Alert! Happy New Year 2026 Greeting Link Scam On WhatsApp, Facebook And Instagram Can Steal Your Personal Data: Don't Do This Mistake

New Year season is here, and so are the scams these days. One thing that all the readers should know is that the scammers are getting sophisticated and the scams polished, due to which anyone can get duped.

In a recent development, Hyderabad and the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau have cautioned users against a New Year Greetings scam that is designed in a way that it looks harmless, but of course, it is not.As announced by the officials, the messages look like personalised New Year cards or digital gifts, and once you open them, you are cooked. Most of the time, these messages come with a message like 'see your greeting' or 'claim a gift.' What's scary here is that these messages can look like they are received from a known contact.New Year Party 2026: 5 Best Bluetooth Speakers Under Rs 10,000 For House Party As soon as you tap the link or the animation, it installs malicious APK files on Android smartphones. And after getting installed, these files run spyware or malware in the background without the user knowing that something fishy is going on in the background. Coming to the repercussions, the apps can gather and steal all sensitive information from your device. Whether it is your OTPs, SMS, photo galleries, or bank details, everything is at risk if this app gets installed somehow. The impact is so much that if a hacker takes control of your phone, they can forward the malicious link to all your office groups, family members, and friends.

What Mistakes Can You Avoid?

See, in the New Year season, you will get a lot of wishes, and keeping track of everything is impossible. So, the best thing would be to not interact with any kind of 'open the link to see gift' or 'click the animation' message on your phone, even if received from close ones. Just drop the greeting and be done with it. And if you have already clicked the link, then you should disconnect your phone from the internet as soon as possible and uninstall all the unfamiliar applications on your device.