A new WhatsApp scam, in which hackers posing as users’ friends or contacts ask for 6-digit codes is reportedly ongoing.Â
The code is a confirmation that WhatsApp sends to all its users if someone tries to sign in from a different device.
So the scammers whose main aim is to hack the victim’s contact, would them reach to the victim pretending to be a friend and ask for the six digit code, so they can continue to have control of the victim’s WhatsApp account.
WhatsApp is therfore advising users not to send the six digit code to any friend who ask for it without first confirming if the request indeed came from that friend.
“If you use WhatsApp and get a text from one of your friends asking for a six-digit code, you should not send it out immediately. You should first confirm from your friend, if it is indeed them, and only then should you share the code, best if it is shared over a call.
“If you send out the six-digit code to your friends or contacts without confirming first, you can fall prey to a scam and will end up getting your account hacked,” they said.
WhatsApp users are exposed to scams or phishing messages every now and then. More often than not, it is difficult to identify such messages. A new scam message targets users by posing as one of their contacts asking them to send a code that they receive in their inbox.
A US-based radio show host, Alexis Conran, shared about the scam on Twitter saying “It starts with this text message that arrives on your phone out of the blue. Immediately after you get a WhatsApp message from someone in your contacts. The message reads ‘Hello, sorry I sent you a 6-digit code by SMS by mistake, Can you transfer it to me, please? It’s urgent.”
“As for the friend who is sending you the message asking for the code, it is very likely that his or her account has also been hacked as well so don’t send the digit to them,” WhatsApp cautioned.
