Already well established among our British neighbors, a new scam aimed at stealing WhatsApp accounts could quickly emerge in France. Here’s everything you need to know to foil the hackers’ plans.
Just days after the massive Facebook hack that caused the personal data leak of 20 million French people, it’s WhatsApp’s turn to be in the sights of malicious hackers. This cyberattack relayed by Which?, the British counterpart of QueChoisir, has the particularity of using the two-factor identification system of the messaging application to steal your account. In other words, what should protect you from hackers becomes their tool of choice.
VIDEO – Piracy: what are the risks for victims who have seen their data published on the internet?
A hellish loop
It all starts with receiving an SMS from WhatsApp telling you a secure 6-digit login code. Just don’t worry here, everything is official. The scam starts when one of your contacts sends you this message via instant messaging: “Hello, sorry I sent you a 6-digit code by SMS by mistake, can you forward it to me please ? It’s urgent !” Behind this contact is actually a scammer who hacked your friend’s account and now wants to set up your own account on one of his devices.
Above all, do not answer even if the person in front insists. If you communicate the received number, you will be able to say goodbye to your WhatsApp account and all its data. As for your contacts, they would have a good chance of suffering the same fate as you.
Protect your account
If you have not yet activated the two-step verification offered by WhatsApp, it is highly recommended that you do so. To do this, go to Settings> Account> Two-step verification> Activate. Choose a 6-digit PIN code then enter your email address. This will already be a good barrier to many attacks.
And if you receive a message from one of your contacts, above all, never send the connection code received by WhatsApp. However, do not hesitate to contact your friend by another means to check whether or not he has been the victim of a hack.
You may also be interested in this content:
–
