Are you opening forwarded Happy New Year messages without thinking? Wait, this could be a scam

News India Live, Digital Desk: Today is the afternoon of 31st December 2025 and there must be a flood of notifications on your phone. “Look [आपका नाम] Has sent something special for you” or “Click on this magical link and see what 2026 has in store for you.” We happily open these links, thinking that it is just a small greeting. But this is where we make the biggest mistake. Scammers have turned our happiness into a weapon. As people prepare to welcome the New Year, ‘Wishing Scam’ of cyber fraudsters. You must have noticed that often such messages come on WhatsApp which contain a link to an unknown website (like: surprise-for-you.xyz or wishing-india.club), when you click on it, a flashing page opens on which you are asked for information like your name or city. On the surface it seems innocent, but as soon as you enter the data there. Access to your phone can be stolen in the background. Some links are so dangerous that they directly download a ‘malware’ (malicious software) on your phone which can read even your bank OTP. How to identify whether the link is real or fraudulent? Strange website address: Big websites like Google or Facebook never use unheard domains like .xyz, .top or .win for vishing. Excessive demands: If a congratulatory message asks you to upload your name, phone number or photo, then understand that there is something wrong in it. The condition of sharing only on WhatsApp: Such messages often say, “Send this message to 10 more people and then you will see the surprise.” Real greetings do not put such conditions. Why is there a need to be more careful in 2026? As technology has increased, hackers Now using AI to create more realistic greeting cards, they send customized messages as per your choice. Millions of such links will be shared till 12 midnight on 31st December. Your New Year morning can be spent at the police station or bank helpline. Do not open the link unless you are sure that the person sending it is trustworthy and The link is genuine, do not touch it. Do not enter the password: Never log in to your Facebook or email by visiting such links. Warn others: If such a message comes in any group of your family, then immediately tell them that it could be a fraud.