Jakarta –
Security researchers from CloudSEK discovered a method fraud just past WhatsApp which is simple but the effect is terrible. The scam method is simple, the scammer will initially contact the victim and ask them to call a specific phone number.
If the victim calls the phone number, the fraudster will easily take over the victim’s account without their knowledge. This scam trick is similar to the WhatsApp OTP scam that has been circulating for a long time.
The victim will be asked to dial a 10-digit phone number starting with the code ‘**67*’ or ‘*405*’. CloudSEK CEO Rahul Sasi said this code is usually used by operators to divert calls if the user’s number is busy.
With this code, casual victims may not know that they have diverted their calls to a phone number controlled by the fraudster.
“Now on the backend, fraudsters will start the WhatsApp registration process for your phone number and choose the option to send OTP via phone number,” Sasi said in his report, as quoted by the India Times, Tuesday (31/5/2022).
“Because your phone number is busy – an OTP will be sent to the fraudster’s phone number, and your history is over,” he continued.
As known, WhatsApp sends OTP to registered phone number to verify user account. If the fraudster manages to get the OTP to login to the victim’s WhatsApp account, they will be immediately removed from the account and the account will be completely taken over by the fraudster.
Once the fraudsters take over the victim’s WhatsApp account, they will contact the people in the victim’s contacts to ask for money. “In this way, hackers can spoof the victim’s WhatsApp contacts before the victim even realizes that they have lost control of their account,” said Sasi.
Sasi added that this trick can be used to hack anyone’s WhatsApp account as long as the hacker can physically access the victim’s cellphone and has access to make phone calls.
Although this scam has only recently been reported in India, Sasi said this scam is global in scope because all countries and mobile operators have similar number divert codes.
To protect the account WhatsApp and overcome fraudulent attacks like this, always enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) on WhatsApp and set a password or pin to login.
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(vmp / vmp)
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