While efforts have been made to recover stolen funds, results have been limited. Last year alone, just £1.7 million was recovered out of a total £5.4 million lost to various forms of fraud
WhatsApp users are being urged to stay alert as a sophisticated scam has already cost victims millions of pounds through fake investment schemes. Cybercriminals are impersonating trusted investment firms, luring unsuspecting users into handing over large sums of money.
The scam typically begins with users being added to fake WhatsApp groups or receiving messages, emails, or links that appear to come from legitimate financial institutions. From there, scammers pose as investment professionals, offering fake opportunities to grow users’ wealth.
In reality, they are duplicating personal details and siphoning off funds. According to the Investment Association, nearly 500 “cloning” attempts have been documented so far, with one in four proving successful. The total financial loss reported through this scam now exceeds £2.7 million.
Financial crime expert Adrian Hood warned that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is making these scams harder to detect. “The growth of AI is likely to see increasingly sophisticated scams, with criminals better able to mimic legitimate firms,” he said.
While efforts have been made to recover stolen funds, results have been limited. Last year alone, just £1.7 million was recovered out of a total £5.4 million lost to various forms of fraud. The WhatsApp cloning scam follows an alarming rise in digital fraud cases. Google recently issued its own urgent warning after reporting a dramatic increase in fraud-related losses, which soared to $12.5 billion in 2024. In a statement, Google stressed the importance of public awareness: “Scammers are more effective and act without fear of punishment when people are uninformed about fraud and scam tactics.”
These scammers are increasingly targeting individuals with high-value online assets, including social media influencers and digital entrepreneurs. By posing as representatives from reputable firms, they exploit trust and lack of verification to gain access to private accounts and finances.
Experts advise users to be cautious when contacted out of the blue by individuals claiming to represent investment firms, and to never share personal or financial information over unsecured platforms like WhatsApp. Users are encouraged to verify communications through official channels and report suspicious activity immediately.
