Billions of WhatsApp users warned over ‘criminal’ text you must delete – check your phone now
ALL WhatsApp users are being warned over a dangerous scam that strikes in seconds.
Don’t fall for the wily con or you risk putting your friends and family in danger.
The UK’s Action Fraud said that the sneaky “criminal” text allows crooks to instantly take over your WhatsApp account.
Once a scammer has hijacked a WhatsApp account, they can hoodwink your friends and family.
This could lead to them stealing their money, breaking into their accounts, or gaining their personal info for fraud.
Action Fraud said it has received more than 60 reports relating to this type of scam.
It starts with a criminal gaining access to someone you know.
The criminal will pose as your friend and start a seemingly normal conversation with you.
But you’ll suddenly find that WhatsApp sends you a message with a six-digit code.
“This is because the criminal has been trying to login to WhatsApp using your mobile number,” Action Fraud warned.
“The criminal will claim that they sent you their code by accident and ask you to help them by sending it to them.
“Once the criminal has this code, they can login to your WhatsApp account and lock you out.
“The criminal will then use the same tactic with your WhatsApp contacts in an effort to steal more accounts and use them to perpetrate fraud.”
To stay safe, you should set up two-step verification on your account.
Go to Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification > Enable.
Also, if a friend or family member is making a suspicious request, consider calling them directly.
And never share your app SMS code with anyone, even with a person that you trust.
Thankfully a recent WhatsApp update makes this scam much harder to execute.
In April 2023, WhatsApp issued a software update that may warn you if you’re moving your account to another phone.
If this prompt appears and you don’t want to go ahead, you must tap Do Not Allow.
Otherwise the scammers will successfully hijack your account.
“If you need to switch your WhatsApp account to a new device, we want to double check that it’s really you,” WhatsApp explained.
“From now on, we may ask you on your old device to verify that you want to take this step as an extra security check.
“This feature can help alert you to an unauthorised attempt to move your account to another device.”