Hackers gain access to MP's WhatsApp, ask contacts for rent money

Ramona Attard said she noticed something was off while she was at her daughter’s drama show

A Labour MP's WhatsApp account was hacked on Wednesday, with hackers then trying to trick her contacts into sending them money.

Ramona Attard, a lawyer and former Labour Party president, confirmed the hack to Times of Malta.

Contacts in Attard's phonebook received a message from the MP on Wednesday afternoon, asking for a €1,150 loan to help her make rent.

Written in Maltese, the scam message read: "Hi, can you lend me €1150 over Revolut until tomorrow? I need to pay rent and my bank account is restricted till tomorrow. I'll pay you back."

Attard she noticed something was off while she was at her daughter’s drama show.

“While I was at my daughter’s drama show, I received many telephone calls from different people telling me that they were receiving messages from me asking for rent money via Revolut”.

“I don’t even have a Revolut account. I didn’t immediately notice anything because automatically messages from my account were being archived”.

Attard said she has reported the matter to police.

The message Attard's contacts received.

On the popular group Are You Being Served? one user said she received an identical message from another user.

The message is an example of a social engineering scam that seeks to trick people into voluntarily sending money to scammers.

In such cases, scammers first gain unauthorised access to a user's WhatsApp account, then message all their contacts with an urgent request for money.

They then send anyone who replies a link they can use to effect payment.

Unlike many traditional bank transfers, Revolut transfers are instant. Scammers usually have money sent to a 'mule' account that they have seized control of, and then transfer money out of that account within seconds of receiving it.