The Criminal Analysis and Investigative Focus Unit of the Aysén Regional Prosecutor’s Office warned the community about a scam that is affecting various people in the region.
As explained by the chief prosecutor of SACFI, Luis González Aracena, through a message on WhatsApp or by text message, criminals acting covertly, request the forwarding of a six-digit code that can reach the user for different reasons.
BUY AND SELL
For example, this request may be related to the intention to buy or sell something through a purchase portal, after which the criminal makes contact with the victim, inventing that he needs that code that has just arrived to obtain his location or authorize a transfer or other reason, in buying and selling platforms such as Marketplace, Yapo, Mercado Libre or others.
Another situation, which may vary over time and the criminals’ strategy, is related to an alleged error in sending a code to that phone.
This type of deception has also been observed recently in other parts of the country and the world, for which Prosecutor González called on citizens to take the respective precautions. “In this way, strangers have access to the WhatsApp accounts of the people who deliver those codes and begin to request money from their contacts. There are already several victims in the region, ”explained the chief prosecutor of SACFI.
OPERANDY MODE
With these types of messages, what the criminals behind this deception are actually doing is obtaining the verification code to register your WhatsApp account on another device.
Once the message with the six-digit verification code is forwarded, the mafias behind this deception will register their WhatsApp on another phone with said code, while the victim will only see a message on their screen informing them that lost access to your account.
“It is important that the community is informed of these issues because that way they can avoid falling into deceptions and adopt the respective security measures,” added prosecutor Luis González.
Then, with all the available contacts, the cybercriminals will begin to request money from the friends of the owner of the phone, through various stories, some of which access and make a transfer of money through their bank accounts.
TWO-STEP VERIFICATION ACTIVATION
A technical security aspect in WhatsApp is the activation of the «two-step verification». To activate it, the prosecutor of Focos, María Inés Núñez, explained that you must first access the settings section in the upper right part of the device screen.
Then to the “Account” section. Once inside “Account”, select the option “Verification in two steps”.
At this time, the user must choose a 6-digit password, which will be requested the next time he wants to register WhatsApp on any device. It is possible that, for security reasons, from time to time the application asks for the password to avoid unauthorized reading of the messages.
“In this way, the account is protected by being associated not only with the telephone number that made the installation, but also with a numeric password and an email address. With these additional measures, if for any reason the user delivers the WhatsApp registration key, the other security layers would prevent a third party from registering it on another cell phone ”, mentioned the prosecutor María Inés Núñez, a member of SACFI, a unit that calls the community not to fall for this type of deception that can cost the victims dearly.
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