QuickCheck: Are fraudulent wedding invites used in scam efforts?

WEDDINGS - and by extension, wedding invitations - are generally causes for celebration, and as such no one would think twice should they receive the happy news from a friend.

With that said, it has been claimed that scammers are using such "invitations" to part people from their hard-earned money. Is this true?

VERDICT:

TRUE

This is indeed true as the police have detected criminals using wedding invitation messages with application files embedded with malware to steal data and access their victims' financial information.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the tactic has been in use since at least mid-2023 and was often used by criminals to hack into smartphones.

He said police investigations found that such wedding invitation messages would usually be sent by criminals posing as acquaintances of the victims.

"If the victim downloads and installs the application, the criminal will gain full access to the victim's phone without their knowledge.

"This access allows the criminal to steal the victim's data and could even result in financial loss for the victim," he said in a statement on Tuesday (June 4).

Ramli advised the public to always be cautious and avoid downloading any application files (.apk) received through messages, emails, or other similar channels.