#WeekendWisdom 073 WhatsApp Code Scam
Welcome to #WeekendWisdom number 73. This week we’re going to talk about WhatsApp Code Scam.
What is going on here?
Earlier this week I heard on the radio a story about people getting locked out of their WhatsApp accounts. What was happening was that they were getting a text message from WhatsApp that contained a code and then they got a WhatsApp message from one of their friends to say
“Oh, hey there! I accidentally forwarded you a code that I need for my WhatsApp. Would you mind sending it on to me?”
If you then sent on that code to your friend, shortly thereafter you would find you will be locked out of your WhatsApp account.
How does this scam work?
What was happening is that your friend’s WhatsApp had been compromised by some bad guys. These bad guys now were trying to get into your WhatsApp account. They were trying to change the number associated with your account. So when that happens WhatsApp will send the original telephone number a text message to confirm it was you and by you sending on that code, then you’re confirming that the bad guys were actually you.
So that’s how they were taking over your account.
How can you protect yourself from this WhatsApp Code Scam?
Now the first thing I would say of course is that if you do get anything like that, a code from WhatsApp, don’t do anything with it unless you have specifically requested it yourself.
Secondly another brilliant protection for all WhatsApp messages is to turn on two-factor authentication on your WhatsApp account. It’s available there in the security settings of your WhatsApp. Turn that on.
So that’s it for this week. Lets be careful out there and we’ll talk to you again next week.
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