Scammers pose as a contact in your phone book before they hack the device, experts say. Technology company Which one? set up an alert in response to the “sneaky and dangerous” scam.
The crooks start by sending a convincing text message to your device containing a six-digit code and a link.
Then you get a WhatsApp message from a friend asking for the code, but once sent, hackers gain access to your phone.
Alexis Conran, a Times Radio presenter, shared a warning about the scam on Twitter saying it “keeps catching people.”
Posting a photo and a Twitter thread, Mr Conran said: ‘Scam warning, this is a WhatsApp scam that continues to catch people.
WhatsApp recognizes it and sends a six-digit authorization code to your mobile phone via SMS.
“The crooks are now trying to get you to pass on to them by pretending to be a friend of yours,” he said.
“If you send them the code, your WhatsApp will be hacked. “
Who? and Mr. Alexis urged users to turn on two-step verification as a protection.
They also suggested confirming if the verification message is real by contacting the friend who sent the message without using WhatsApp.
–
