You are so calm and a notification sounds on your mobile. You look at the screen and see that you just received a WhatsApp. You open the application and check that it is a number that you do not have saved in the phonebook, but the message begins like this:
“Dear customer, we are the WhatsApp support team
We noticed unusual activity on your account”
That catches your attention (powerfully), and you keep reading:
“We want to verify the account and confirm it follow
Next steps
1- Send the word (fact)
2- You will receive a confirmation message.
3- (Send the code here).
4- (Do not open WhatsApp for a full hour).”
You don’t know what ‘send the word’ is or why it appears as ‘fact’. But ‘strange activity’ on your WhatsApp account, no less, is something that you worry a lotSo nod and keep reading.
“You must send the last code you received via text message
Via Civil Guard
We apologize if the code is not submitted, the account will be closed on suspicion that the account has been stolen.”
Worried as you are, you don’t pay attention to the sender’s strange criteria when it comes to putting the points and commas…
…in fact, you don’t even pay attention to the fact that you are receiving the message from a number with the international prefix +944… corresponding to Azerbaijan, in Central Asia. It certainly seems like a strange place to support Spanish-speaking users.
But no stranger than the fact that WhatsApp contacts you through a mere chat (which anyone could use, and it seems official just by putting on a profile picture with the WhatsApp logo, as in this case) and not through an app notification, for example.
So… what’s going on with this message?
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What about that code?
The civil Guard has insisted this past weekend, as a result of the dissemination of messages such as the previous one, in which “never share verification codes with anyone”. And that applies in this case, but also when someone calls you claiming to be from your branch.
Record it on fire: if your interlocutor were really an employee of WhatsApp (or, we repeat, of your bank, it doesn’t matter) and I needed a code to assist you, I would have direct access to itI would not need to ask you when it has come exclusively to you.
Now that that’s clear to you, let’s see.What good is it to cyber-scammers that you send them a code What has WhatsApp previously sent you?
Actually, we’ve seen scams similar to these in the past… in fact, just a few months ago. It’s the famous “I sent you a 6-digit code by mistake, can you send it to me?”.
In this case posed as a friend or family member who had screwed up: in this new case, the hook is that someone trustworthy (the ‘WhatsApp support team’) is checking for ‘strange activity’ in our account, which adds urgency to follow their instructions. That is, by forwarding the code.
But what is this code about? WhatsApp, in order to protect our accounts, sends a notification when someone tries to register an account with our phone number, to verify that we are the ones doing it. That’s why, to keep your account safe, it’s crucial not to share the code you receive.
You must understand that if you receive that code without having requested it personally, it means that someone is trying to take over your account (Or he just made a mistake entering his own number, but in that case, you shouldn’t share the code with him either.)
In any case, if you provide them with that code, your WhatsApp session on your device will be closedpreventing you from accessing your conversations and sending or receiving messages. Your account will be, from that moment, under the control of the attacker.
What actions to take?
If you receive a message like the one described and we have arrived in time so that you do not fall into the trap, block sender and forget about it.
If you’ve already fallen, you can still try request another verification code and enter it quickly to regain control of your account. However, this will most likely not work, so the most effective option is to contact WhatsApp directly to report the theft of your account.
Besides, make sure to warn all your contacts (by call, SMS or email, obviously) that you have lost control of your account, and that any message sent from it is not written by you.
Images | PxFuel + Pixabay
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