United Kingdom, June 1 -- WhatsApp users have been warned of a scam that could cost users thousands of pounds.

The scheme sees nefarious hackers "cloning" leading investment firms to take users' cash.

The scam often starts with users being added to fake WhatsApp groups, emails or websites and the scammers make it look as if they were created by a trustworthy investment company.

As they pretend to invest someone's money, the scammers can duplicate details and steal money.

Experts found that one in four of the attempts were successful and that an astonishing £2.7 million had been lost through the scam.

In all, almost 500 "cloning" attempts were recorded by the Investment Association alone.

Financial crime expert Adrian Hood said:...