WhatsApp will tell you this is because you’ve tried to register the number recently, so now you need to wait before requesting an SMS code. However, when try to confirm your number, no text arrives. Then, WhatsApp asks for your phone number to send you a code, to verify yourself. If you didn’t do this, verify your phone number to log back into your account.” To confirm this, you’ll receive the following notification: “Your phone number is no longer registered with WhatsApp on this phone. They give WhatsApp your phone to deactivate, which means that an hour or so later WhatsApp suddenly stops working on your device. Next, the malicious actor registers a new, fresh email address and sends an email to – reporting that the phone has been lost or stolen and that the account must be deactivated immediately.
In the meantime, the attacker enters invalid confirmation codes at their end, with the aim to get you locked out of your account for 12 hours, once WhatsApp deem the login attempts too suspicious and block your number from entering any more codes. You’ll also see a WhatsApp app notification, telling you that a code has been requested, and warning you not to share it.
You will then receive texts from WhatsApp with the six-digit code you need to get back into the account. If you created your own WhatsApp account, you’ll be familiar with this process. WhatsApp then try to verify this login attempt by asking you for confirmation of an SMS code. First an attacker who knows your phone number will request to activate WhatsApp on a different phone using your details. The scam uses two separate attack vectors.
With this form of attack a hacker needs only to know your phone number to remotely deactivate WhatsApp on your phone and then stop you getting back in, permanently – even if you use two-factor authentication (2FA) on your account. Now, WhatsApp’s two billion users are facing a new security risk, with the discovery of a scam that can take over your phone via a malicious message from a friend in your contact list. Indeed, it may be hard for you to imagine life without this rapid form of communication. WhatsApp code scam: how to spot it and protect yourselfįor so many of us, messaging platforms like WhatsApp have become an integral part of keeping in touch with friends, family, and colleagues during the pandemic.
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