The most common WhatsApp scams that have been used this year 2022 and that are still valid

By 2022, there were 137,000 million attempted cyberattacks in Latin America. Fortinetto be Peru, Mexico and Brazil Countries in which phishing was most used and what prevails WhatsApp By falsely reporting or impersonating someone or a brand.

This year, the messaging app has been used by cybercriminals to make non-existent job offers, solicit money from fake accounts and attempt to steal users’ verification codes.

Cases that should be a warning and a learning opportunity for everyone who uses the platform, because this practice will not stop and, on the contrary, will be transformed into new formats so that cheating is much less obvious. So here is a summary of the most used methods in 2022 so that you can consider them and not succumb to them.

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Fake support system

Getting an account verification code is one of the most recurring goals in 2022. Having this combination of numbers would allow a criminal to access a person’s account because it is a unique password per user and allows the profile to be opened from another device. .

So one method was to message people who claimed to be a support system WhatsApp and notice of entry a iPhone 7. In the message, they asked the user to answer whether he was or not, if he refused, they insisted on threatening to block the profile.

What they were looking for was for the victim to send a code to supposedly confirm the login. It’s an obvious scam because the app doesn’t have a support account in the same app and they never ask for this code through other means.

Cheating SMS

Although this theft attempt is not properly within the platform, it uses it as an excuse because it sends the person a text message with a fake verification code accompanied by a link, which is a real trap.

Cybercriminals want the victim to enter this link in order to download malware to the phone and perform another type of attack.

If you receive this message, it’s important to check if someone else is trying to access your account. Go to Settings>Account>Verification in two steps, an option will appear to create a six-digit code to support the account and compare it with the fake code sent in SMS, which should be deleted and report the number.

Job offers and sweepstakes

This fraud was repeated several times this year. Using the name of well-known companies, criminals sent messages to users via WhatsApp, warning them of work-from-home offers with high pay and few hours.

The trick was to enter a link from which the process of contacting the company was supposed to take place, but in reality it was an entrance to download viruses that affect the phone or the ability to collect personal data through fake forms.

The modality was repeated with messages about sweepstakes in which the victim had won a prize or where he could participate, as well as fake offers for a premium version of WhatsApp promising new features.

You should always be wary of these kinds of extraordinary offers that are too big to be true.

false contact

Account theft is an extension of more user attacks, as by taking a profile they also have access to their contacts and conversations, giving the victim more confidence in providing information.

Argentine journalist Jorge Hale became the victim of this fraud. He was going on a trip to Spain and a friend told him that an acquaintance of his was selling Euros, so he contacted him for the process, but in reality the cybercriminal behind the account had stolen it earlier for that purpose. Collecting other people’s data and money.

A similar incident was reported from Spain. This time, an unknown message came in the chat that it was a relative who was abroad. The person had to guess what it was about and by giving a name started the scam by pretending they were a contact with the idea of ​​asking for money or information.

In these types of situations, the best way to confirm that it is someone you know is to call the cell phone directly or have a third party speak to confirm the situation.

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