Sri Lanka sees surge in personal data theft via free data scams on social media

Instances of personal data theft in Sri Lanka are increasing due to scams on social media that promise free cellular data, leading to a rise in complaints.

Charuka Damunupola, a Senior Information Security Engineer at Sri Lanka’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT), has strongly warned people against interacting with these fake messages.

He advises everyone not to open or share these messages because they are designed to trick people.

Damunupola explains that there is a common scam going around on WhatsApp that falsely offers free data but actually aims to collect personal information, including sensitive biodata.

He also points out cases where people have been tricked into financial theft through these scams.

This worrying trend emphasizes how important it is to be careful and vigilant when using online platforms, especially to protect personal data from being exploited maliciously.

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