Watch out for a new WhatsApp scam involving suspicious phone calls and robotic voices that try to hijack your account.
In this week’s scam, cybercriminals are using phone calls to try to scam you. This type of scam is also known as vishing. You receive a strange call on WhatsApp, a calling and messaging app. The call is from an unknown number, and when you answer, you hear a robotic voice that asks you to add a phone number to your WhatsApp contacts. The call then quickly ends without any further explanation. It seems unusual, but harmless.
However, this is actually a kind of test sent out by cybercriminals. They want to see if you’ll listen to their instructions and add the number. If you do, they believe you’ll be an easy victim of future scams. They will contact you again and try to trick you into sharing your verification code so they can hijack your account. Once they have control of your account, they may use it for criminal activities or demand money from you before they restore your access. They can even message your WhatsApp contacts and try to scam them, too!
Tips to Stay Safe
Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a vishing scam:
- Never add unknown numbers to your contacts, especially if asked to do so unexpectedly.
- Turn on two-step authentication for your account to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to gain access to it.
- Always report and block suspicious phone numbers on your messaging apps. Reporting these numbers also helps protect other users from similar scams.
Stop. Look. Think. And don’t be fooled.
Tips of the Week Brought to You By Our Partners at KnowBe4
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