Introduction: A Real-Life OTP Scam Story That Can Happen to Anyone
This story is about my cousin, a young woman between 20 and 21 years old, who experienced an incident that could easily happen to anyone. She is a teacher by profession and, because of her career, is connected to many teachers and friends through social media and professional groups.
One day, due to some personal reasons, she took leave from school. After completing all her household chores, she was relaxing at home, chatting with her friends over the phone. The time was around 10 PM when she received a call from an unknown number. Thinking it might be important, she answered the call.
How the OTP Scam Started: The First Call and the Fatal Mistake
On the other end was a young man who introduced himself professionally. He claimed to be calling from HEC (Higher Education Commission) and said, “We are in the process of verifying your academic degrees. You will shortly receive a One-Time Password (OTP) on your phone. Kindly share it with me to complete your verification process.”
Hearing this, my cousin, trusting the professional tone and believing it was an official call from HEC, shared the OTP without thinking twice. Within moments, she received a notification from WhatsApp saying, “You have been logged out.” Without fully understanding the situation, she clicked on the notification, thinking it was a technical error.
Unfortunately, what she didn’t realize was that by providing the OTP, she had handed over access to her WhatsApp account to a scammer. Many people in Pakistan, either due to lack of awareness or carelessness, click on such notifications without understanding the consequences.
As soon as she clicked “logout,” her WhatsApp account was taken over by the scammer. Confused and worried, she wondered what had just happened. She tried logging in again but WhatsApp displayed a message:
“Your WhatsApp account is currently being used on another device. To continue, you must log out from the other device first.”
Immediate Consequences of the OTP Scam: WhatsApp Hacked and Panic Sets In
Now panic started to set in.
After a short while, her brother received a call from a distant cousin on their father’s side. Concerned, the cousin asked, “Is everything okay? Until today, you never asked us for money. How come you’re suddenly requesting 10,000 rupees for an emergency? Also, the account number you provided isn’t even in your name. Are you asking us to send money for someone else?”
My cousin was shocked. “When did I ever ask for money?” she thought. She quickly pieced things together and realized she had been hacked. Her WhatsApp account was no longer in her control, and the scammer was using her identity to message her contacts and request money.
She attempted to recover her account but faced the same barrier — as long as the scammer remained active, she couldn’t regain access. Worse, the unknown number that had called her earlier was now unreachable.
Desperate to minimize the damage, she began calling all her friends and family, informing them one by one:
“My WhatsApp has been hacked! Please don’t respond to any messages from my number. Don’t send any money or personal information!”
How the Scammer Exploited the OTP Scam to Steal Money
However, despite her quick actions, some damage had already been done.
One of her close friends, believing the scammer’s fake emergency message, had already transferred 10,000 rupees, thinking she was helping my cousin. The scammer, pretending to be my cousin, had urgently asked for money, and because of the trust between friends, the money was sent immediately without hesitation.
It became clear that the hacker wasn’t able to see the full contact list on her phone — only those who actively messaged on WhatsApp were accessible. This is why the scammer was only targeting people who had recent conversations.
Despite all her efforts to alert everyone, the hacker was persistent. Whenever someone messaged the hacked WhatsApp account threatening police action, the scammer simply blocked them.
The situation became extremely stressful.
In desperation, my cousin even considered getting her phone number permanently blocked and issuing a new SIM card. It seemed there was no other way to stop the hacker.
Thankfully, after about 24 hours, the scammer voluntarily logged out of her WhatsApp account, possibly realizing that the situation was becoming risky with so many people threatening legal action.
She quickly regained control of her WhatsApp, changed all her security settings, enabled two-step verification, and made sure no further damage could occur.
However, the loss of her friend’s 10,000 rupees remained a painful reminder of how quickly things could spiral out of control from one moment of carelessness.
Key Lessons Learned from This OTP Scam Incident
This unfortunate incident serves as a harsh but important lesson for all of us.
It shows how a single mistake — sharing an OTP with a stranger — can give scammers complete control over your private communication channels. In today’s world, where most of our work, banking, and even personal conversations happen online, losing access to something like WhatsApp can be devastating.
The scammer in this story used social engineering tactics very cleverly:
- He introduced himself with authority (claiming to be from HEC).
- He created urgency (“we need to verify your degrees immediately”).
- He preyed on trust and a lack of technical awareness.
This type of scam can happen to anyone, especially young professionals who often share personal information through different apps and platforms.
How to Protect Yourself from an OTP Scam
- Never share your OTP with anyone, ever. Legitimate organizations like HEC, banks, or any other government bodies will never ask you for an OTP over the phone.
- Always verify unknown callers. If someone claims to be from an organization, hang up and call the organization’s official number directly to confirm.
- Enable two-step verification on all apps.
This adds an extra layer of security beyond the OTP. - Educate yourself and others. Many people fall for scams simply because they are unaware. A little knowledge can prevent massive financial losses and emotional distress.
- Stay calm but act quickly if hacked. Immediately inform all your contacts, file a complaint with your local cybercrime unit, and take steps to regain access.
- “For a detailed guide on how OTP scams and other digital frauds work worldwide, you can check this trusted resource for updated information.”
Final Thoughts on Staying Safe from OTP Scams
In the end, we pray to Allah for the safety and protection of all. May Allah save us from fraudsters and ease the difficulties faced by people all over the world.
Let this story be a warning:
Stay alert. Be cautious. Protect your digital identity as carefully as you protect your wallet.
Scammers are getting smarter — and so must we.
“You can also read our detailed story on another scam case: Exposing the Brutal Truth About the WBS Company Scam.”
https://www.ted.com/profiles/48781321