Have you received a 6-digit verification code on your WhatsApp account which you DIDN'T REQUEST immediately after your contact or an unknown number posing as WhatsApp, kindly ask for this code? Don't even think about giving it to him! Being this one new WhatsApp scam, it will allow the other user to install your WhatsApp account on their device and in this way will have access to all your photos, conversations and contacts on your phone. That's why in El Poder Del Android Verde we explain what it consists of and how to prevent it and what to do if unfortunately… you have provided your WhatsApp verification code.
What is the WhatsApp verification code and what is it for?
It is the personal code and non-transferable that WhatsApp sends us once we sign up for the first time or we simply want to install our WhatsApp account on a new device. That's why, under no circumstances should we send this code to someone which we don't know since can be installed if we send it to our WhatsApp account on another device.
You might be interested
- Is it possible to activate WhatsApp without verification code?
- Is using WhatsApp Web without QR Code possible?
What is phishing and what is it for?
Il Phishing is the name given to phishing techniques. Basically they are techniques where a (usually unknown) user tries to log in "kindly" ai our personal data. This can be through e-mail the spam, for example by pretending to be our bank and saying we have a serious problem that please provide ours bank codes to solve it. In case you think that no one "bite" the truth is that it still is telemarketing, or they send the scam to millions of people it's a minimal percentage falls for the scamand they will give all yours bank details to a stranger, a horror.
And just the latest whatsapp scam uses phishing method to try to steal your WhatsApp 6 digits and thus have access to yours accounts, conversations, photos, videos and contacts. In The Power Of The Green Android we will see what the procedure is and what you should do if it happens to you.
What is the latest type of WhatsApp??
According to the Civil Guard, the new whatsapp scam is that a contact will tell you the following via a message:
«Hi, sorry, I accidentally sent you a 6-digit code via SMS, can you come and get me, please? It's urgent"
This message doesn't have to be the same, it can be another, as we will see below. The fact is that at the same time they send it to you, you will receive a 6-digit WhatsApp verification code via SMS which is exactly the same as you want your contact to send you. Never ever send it to him, since the verification code is the code staff and not transferable that WhatsApp asks you when you sign up for the first time the when change device, so if you give it to a stranger you consent to your WhatsApp account is installed on an unknown phone.
How they tried to scam me with the new WhatsApp scam
The fact is that yesterday they repeatedly tried to use the WhatsApp SMS scam to request repeatedly the my verification code. The first thing they did was that a unknown number wrote me privately, the moment I answered the scammer he could see that my phone number was operational and the moment I received this message privately.
And right after whatsapp warned me that someone had requested my verification code, than if it wasn't me I would never give it to anyone.
Obviously I received an SMS with my new 6-digit WhatsApp verification code that the scammers had requested with my new number.
This is undoubtedly one variant of the new WhatsApp scam but the purpose is the same, send WhatsApp verification code to another number to take over your account. So never send it to anyone.
What should you do if they try to scam you by asking for WhatsApp verification code?
Next I will tell you the steps to follow if you have been victim of the latest WhatsApp scam.
Never give your verification code to any number ⛔
The first thing you should do is under no circumstances forward the code to another unknown number, since will have access to your WhatsApp account.
Report all strange numbers to WhatsApp
If a strange number hacks into your account asking for personal information, never reply, just report it. In this way you will block it and if that number receives multiple report notifications, WhatsApp will proceed to cancel your account. To do that, you just have to shake your hand where it says «Report».
Contact WhatsApp support
You can contact WhatsApp support and explain everything that happened to you by providing screenshots. From my experience, it is absolutely useless because they will reply with an automated message not responding to your request, but at least you'll let them know what's going on. To contact WhatsApp support you can do it in 2 different ways.
From the App
You can contact support from the app by entering the following path:
- Settings > Help > Contact Us >.
In this screen we can do the following:
- We write what happened to us.
- We provide one screenshot of what happened to us.
It will send us to our Gmail account where we will do the following:
- We will send the email to android@support.whatsapp.com.
- We wrote about whatsapp scam.
- We give you for send mail.
From the official website
You can also contact support to let the platform know who you are victim of the new WhatsApp scam. For this we will enter the official page from the following link.
On this page we must enter the following information:
- We turn on the phone.
- We select the platform on which we have been victims of the latest WhatsApp scam.
- Let's «Send».
Our email page will open and we will fill it with the following information:
- We put ours email.
- The recipient will be the WhatsApp support whose email it is support@whatsapp.com.
- Let's put the question.
- We add photos.
- We write the body of the message and click on «Send».
Make a non-formal complaint on the National Police website ♂️ ♀️
It is also recommended that you file a non-formal complaint with the Cybercrime Citizens Collaboration Unit from the following link.
Remember that this is not a formal complaint, you will only inform the National Police of what has happened to you and if they can they will help or advise you about the latest WhatsApp scam.
Turn on 2-step verification
You can activate 2-step verification to make your WhatsApp account even more secure, this way you will add a layer of security to your account and even if your account or mobile is stolen, they must have access to this second code to access the history of the posts.
Not feeling safe?, Delete your WhatsApp account
You don't stop receive scams via WhatsApp?Well, you always can delete your account linked to your number, get a new phone number in your company and create a new WhatsApp account. This way you can get rid of scams since being a new number it will not be filtered.
Report to the nearest police station
If you stay calmer, you always can report to the nearest police station, however in my case I was already informed and they let me know that these complaints are difficult to investigate and they usually have little travel time. However, you lose nothing by registering this identity theft crime on WhatsApp.
If you have been a victim of the WhatsApp message scam, you can leave a comment below explaining what your experience was and what you did for avoid being scammed. This article will continue to be updated with the latest whatsapp scams, so I recommend you to check it from time to time and please don't forget to share this article to avoid being scammed via WhatsApp.
