Bandits pretend to be official WhatsApp support in a new scam

Published 04/07/2021 18:46 | Blog | comments

A new scam has been identified on WhatsApp with the aim of stealing personal information and even accessing the victims’ accounts. according to website WABetaInfoThe cybercriminals’ scheme consists of contacting the users of the application pretending to be an official messaging support account.

The profile uses the app logo and a verified badge in the wrong position: inside the profile picture and not next to the phone number. Also, the profile is not a business account: criminals use a personal number to carry out the scam.

The official support account (right) and the replica created by the cybercriminals (left).Source: WABetaInfo

In the scam, the fake support claims that there is something wrong with your account and asks for confirmation of personal information or even the credit card number linked to the payment system, in addition to asking for the two-factor verification access code to the account or the registered PIN.

By passing all this data, you can lose access to the profile and have the account compromised, facilitating bank fraud and even the use of your identity for the application of other scams.

If you receive one of these messages, the recommendation is to report the number to the real support of the messenger and block the contact, without responding to messages from criminals. WhatsApp never requests personal data of this type when contacting users to resolve incidents or make notifications.