In the 10 seconds it takes you to read this first paragraph, more than 12 million messages will have been shared on WhatsApp in 180 countries around the world.
The most popular chat platform on the planet, Used by 2 billion people per monthGiven its popularity, it has become a highly desirable scenario for cybercriminals looking for ways to make a profit.
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According to the Industry and Trade Inspectorate (in line with the call for user data protection in our country), WhatsApp processes the information of 39 million Colombians per month.
According to digital criminology and forensics expert Yefrin Garavito, criminals have various intentions regarding fraudulent methods via WhatsApp. “Stealing personal data to commit other crimes. Through impersonation, the victim provides personal information (address, ID card, etc.) that is then used for other fraud or blackmail from prisons,” he explains.
On the other hand, there are scammers who threaten to cancel the phone line, asking the user to forward a password that comes in a text message. With this trick, they hijack the victim’s WhatsApp and then snatch their scammed contacts. such as money requests or the sale of counterfeit products, among others.”
There’s a modality that starts with social networks, communicating with people and “fake profiles that take them to WhatsApp, create chats and exchange sexual and erotic material, and then extort money from the victim for alleged contact with a minor,” Garavito said.
(You may be interested: These are the most used social networks by young people)
According to Fortinet, there are three indicated maneuvers to avoid falling for any of the WhatsApp scams:
1. Insecurity. Beware of messages that aggressively invite you to some urgent action under the threat of hijacking you, canceling or closing a bank account or a network profile. Watch out for messages that have typos or look like a bad translation into Spanish.
2. Confirm. No matter how much a known person writes to you, if their conversation, topic, request or proposal sounds interesting or strange to you, contact that person directly in another way.
3. Authentication. Enable double login verification option in WhatsApp so they can’t activate your chat on another mobile.
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These are supposedly enhanced versions of WhatsApp that promise unique functionality and access to ‘exclusive’ content, but in reality they are programs that open the door to theft of personal information (passwords) and even install malware on a mobile or PC. .
Here the Police, cell phone company, Dian, a bank or social network will contact you urgently as if you do not send a number to be sent via text message you will be confiscated, fined or a service cancelled. With this PIN they activate your WhatsApp on another mobile and steal your contacts.
As a result of the previous scam, the criminal will impersonate you and contact your friends and family to ask for money or sell them a luxury item for a ridiculous price. The thug can easily scam victims with family information until he directs them to hand over the money by chatting.
In this type of scam, the criminal company collectively sends messages announcing rewards or promising immediate recruitment, inviting the victim to respond to the message or make a call where they are ‘serviced’ in a personalized way and asked for money.
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