hackers steal your WhatsApp account through a phone call

A new way of fraud on WhatsApp allows hackers to take over users’ accounts via a phone call. Then the cheaters also try to get money from friends and family of the victim. You can do this against it.

WhatsApp fraud over phone

Hackers will never stop trying to break into WhatsApp accounts and new ways of working are constantly emerging. The latest new method by which malicious parties can take over your account is via a phone call, according to Rahul Sasi, CEO of ‘CloudSEk’, a company that identifies security risks with artificial intelligence (AI).

He explains to 91Mobiles that hackers contact their victims via telephones. On the phone, they use all sorts of excuses to convince people to enter a specific code into their phone app’s keypad. Once victims do that, they are immediately logged out of WhatsApp and the hacker can access the account.

The follow-up story is more like the classic form of WhatsApp fraud. The victim often does not immediately realize that his account has been taken over, but while the hacker already contacts the friends and relatives of the victim via WhatsApp. He tries to convince these people to transfer money.

protect yourself

The best way to guard against the cyber threat over the phone is to secure your WhatsApp account with two-step verification (2FA). You can also set WhatsApp to only give access to conversations when entering a PIN or using the fingerprint scanner. You can read these and six other tips to secure your account on WhatsApp here.

WhatsApp fraud has increased significantly in previous years, but a study by the Fraud Help Desk shows that cheating via WhatsApp was not the most common form of fraud in 2021. That was the online store fraud last year. Have you ever encountered fraud on WhatsApp? Let us know in the comments.

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