Shomrim Warns Community of WhatsApp Hacking Scam — Keep Your Account Secure
Brooklyn Shomrim came out with an urgent warning of a phone-hacking scam that has been targeting WhatsApp users.
By FrumNews.com
Brooklyn Shomrim came out with an urgent alert, warning of a phone-hacking scam that has been targeting WhatsApp users in the Jewish community.
Although this scam has been around for years, hundreds of Frum Yidden in New York and New Jersey have fallen victim to this brutal scam this week. Many had their bank accounts wiped clean because of the bank account details obtained on their WhatsApp.
This is a flavor of social engineering scams by gaining the user’s trust—by posing as a close contact, even as a spouse, parent or child —to extort the user to gain access to their accounts.
The scam involves a standard message asking the WhatsApp user to send a verification code that they just requested to the user’s phone. The WhatsApp message seems to be coming from one of your close contacts.
This occurs after a hacker has already gained access to someone on your contact list’s WhatsApp account. The scammer messages you, purporting to be one of your contacts, and all messages appear at first glance to be from the person you trust, sometimes a parent, child, sibling or even your own spouse.
During the conversation with this person, you could then receive a message containing a six-digit verification code.
The scammer will pretend and try to convince the victim that it was sent to you by mistake and ask you to give them the code.
If the victim gives the scammer the code, the scammers will log in and have full access to your entire WhatsApp account, including all messages and photos you ever sent on WhatsApp. The scammers will then have access to your contacts by pulling the same scam, pretending to be you and gain access to your message history.
How can we and our loved ones avoid falling victim to this?
Add a Two-step factor passcode to your WhatsApp account. This gives your account a double level of protection from scammers, meaning even if the scammers gain access to your number, they won’t have access to the account itself
Avoid having too many admins in one group. If a hacker hacks into an admin’s WhatsApp account, they have access to the entire group.
WhatsApp provides a number of tips to protect your account:
- Never message your registration code or two-step verification PIN with others.
- Enable two-step verification and provide an email address in case you forget your PIN.
- Set a voicemail password on your phone that’s difficult to guess to prevent anyone from accessing your voicemail. Reset all your accounts by requesting an audio verification code by phone call, which then goes to voicemail when the call gets unanswered. (Not just for WhatsApp, but this scam targets your emails, social media, bank account login etc.)
- Check your linked devices regularly. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Linked Devices to review all devices linked to your account. To remove a linked device, tap the device > Log Out.
It is also recommended to add 2-Step Verification (two-factor authentication) on all your emails, bank and social media accounts that you have.
9 Comments
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10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
The best way to protect yourself… DON”T USE WHATSAPP!!
Your Neshama will thank you.
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10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
Thanks for the heads up!
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10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
This happened to me last week, though I had two step verification and they broke through it. I got an email that I was requesting to take off two step verification on whatsapp, does this mean somebody got into my email? I changed my email password after that, and managed to get my whatsapp back, but how did they break through my two step verification?
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10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
Thank you for sharing this information!
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10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
Is this only applicable to US I am in SA
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forum Reply to Katherine Keyser 10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
Also applies outside of the U.S.
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10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
I’ve been one of them got hacked last week Thursday. It’s been so many days. I cannot get my WhatsApp back. They don’t reply. They don’t send anything. How can I get my WhatsApp phone back number please help.
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forum Reply to Nathan 10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
Keep trying to log in. It will lock the hacker out. It will sometimes take 7 days until you finally get access
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forum Reply to Fyrf 10/07/2024 | ה' תשרי התשפ"ה
They steal it via WhatsApp business. You can’t log in through regular WhatsApp because it will send the verification code to the hackers phone. Instead, download WhatsApp business, put in your number, then request a CALL on your number with the verification code. Not a text. Put in that code from the call and now your WhatsApp account is back by you. Then, simply put your number in regular WhatsApp, it will ask something along the lines of “are you sure you want to switch back to a personal account?” Click “yes” and switch back and then you’re back to normal
Did this for a friend after trying to go through regular WhatsApp many times and this is what worked.
Hatzlacha
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