Once again, scammers are up to mischief with WhatsApp. Your fake message can even come from your own friends.
- Fraudsters are up to mischief on WhatsApp .
- With a nasty trick they want to take control of your WhatsApp account .
- The fake message can apparently be sent to you by friends .
Munich - Fraudsters currently seize third-party WhatsApp accounts . They actually use a very simple mesh . The downside to this: The fake message can apparently come from a friend .
The portal mimikama.at reports of the new wave of fraud after users reported. If you fall for it, you lose control of your account .
Nasty scam on WhatsApp: "Can you help me briefly?"
"Hey! Can you help me briefly? “, The hackers ask mostly friendly. Who gets suspicious when someone you know asks for it? The instructions then come directly with the same message: "You will receive an SMS straight away . Can you send me the code in the message? "
It is not clear whether the messages are sent by a bot. The sender should even respond to requests with creative excuses .
WhatsApp: Fraudsters want your verification code
You will then receive an SMS shortly after the first WhatsApp message . It contains a link and a code . The sender of the short message is WhatsApp itself, it is an attempt to verify your WhatsApp account . The fraudsters try to fool you and use a security hole, which WhatsApp has also revealed in the past.
You have most likely seen a message like this before. You need the code or link to set up Messenger on a new phone .
WhatsApp scam: hackers first steal your account and then your data
And that is exactly what the fraudsters intend to do with it. Just that they don't take care of their own account , but steal your data .
Once you have forwarded the verification code, the hackers can freely use your WhatsApp . That means viewing contacts, reading old messages and writing new ones.
Fraudsters use third-party WhatsApp accounts: you write on behalf of your friends
It also happens that the fraud message appears to be sent to you by a friend . The fraudsters prefer to use the foreign accounts to spread their fake messages . Since you also get all contacts of the actual account , a real pyramid scheme develops.
Fake message on WhatsApp: How to protect your account
Protection against this mesh is easily created. Just follow the recommendation that WhatsApp sends with the SMS : “ Do not pass on this code! “In general, it doesn't hurt to keep the app up to date. Some devices urgently need these updates. But for some there is bad news, about 400,000 users will soon be completely without an app.
Have you shared the code yet? Then it is time to act. The best thing to do is to let your contacts know that you may have been hacked and weird messages could be sent on your behalf. Most likely, the fraudsters have already thrown you out of your own account . So use SMS , Facebook , email or the classic call . Of course there are also messenger alternatives.
Then it is important to “recapture” your own account . To do this, you have to reset it and verify again - this time yourself. The thread "stolen accounts" in the WhatsApp FAQs helps. Caution is currently advised by customers of Sparkassen, Volksbanken / Raiffeisenbanken and Mastercard: fraudsters try to get their data with phishing emails.
moe
