WhatsApp account theft: how to regain control of your chats and prevent it from happening again, step by step

While WhatsApp scams have always been a latent threat, they’ve started to do so in recent months multiply phone calls dupe the unsuspecting with ever more sophisticated campaigns. In this note, how to secure your chats and avoid account theft, step by step.

In one of the most frequent, the attackers pose as Ministry of Health personnel – the call has the logo of the Cuidar app – with the excuse of coordinating a new dose of the drug covid vaccine.

In a persuasive tone they explain that they are going to send a link with a number and once they receive it – everything happens in real time – they have to dictate it. When the person reads it to them, the WhatsApp account is hijacked.

Immediately, the criminals start writing to the most frequent WhatsApp contacts, on behalf of the owner, to request the sending of virtual money.

The apologies in the message are as varied as they are ingenious. From when he had a flat tire and left without a wallet, until he was robbed and needed a loan to get home.

“Swindlers, with false job offers or requesting emergency relief, try to extract personal data, such as the registration code – sent by SMS or phone call – to remotely access another user’s account. Given this scenario, the best thing to do is take steps to strengthen security,” says Paloma Szerman, public policy manager for WhatsApp in Latin America.

How to secure a WhatsApp account

From the application itself, they point out that it is essential to activate two-step verification to establish an additional personal PINa six-digit number, which is required if someone tries to access your account from another device.

“Not having these numbers, the intruder will not be able to take control of your account. Remember that WhatsApp will not call you or send a message to request this PIN or verify it,” warns Szerman.

However, the application itself will randomly ask for this code, so it should always be kept in mind. To configure this level of protection, go to the menu Settings>Account>2-Step Verification.

Every time a WhatsApp account is activated on a new device, the system sends a code via SMS or phone call to verify and activate the number.

This number should never be shared as it allows an unknown person to take control of the application.

Step by step how to recover a stolen WhatsApp account

“WhatsApp accounts cannot be cloned. That is, no two people are connected to the same number at the same time. If you think someone has stolen your account, there are tools available to recover it and make sure no one else is in control,” Szerman explains.

• The first thing will be to try to log in again. Sometimes, if the invader hasn’t set the PIN yet, this mechanism expels the intruder of the account and allows you to regain control of it.

• Then you will need to contact the WhatsApp support team: [email protected]. The email must include the subject “Account Stolen” and contain the number in international format (+54 9 11).

• It is important to pay special attention to email addresses, support only uses those ending with @support.whatsapp.com or @in.whatsapp.com.

• If a WhatsApp message arrives without a green checkmark or from a phone number that does not start with the given address and claims to be WhatsApp, it is likely that It is a scam. In these cases, do not answer and report or block the number.

“I have described the incident in as much detail as possible in the body of the email and the WhatsApp support team will get back to you with a response as soon as possible,” Szerman said.

Once recovered, reinstall the software, request account verification via SMS, and sign in with your phone number. Confirm the six-digit code you will receive via SMS. This way, anyone else using that account will be automatically logged out.

“If when requesting the registration code the system asks for a two-step verification code and you do not know it, it is possible that the person who accessed your account has activated this second level of protection. In that case, you will have to wait seven days to be able to log back into your account without the two-step verification code,” Szerman clarifies.

One reason for the delay is usually the lack of information in the report. On many occasions the orders do not have the data necessary to identify an account, such as the country code or specifically the type of account loss.

In case of identity theft, you need to have evidence, screenshots detailing what happened in writing, to speed up the process.

“To reduce possible harm, it’s critical that when you detect that you’ve been duped or scammed, you take immediate action so we can provide the necessary support,” suggests Szerman.

It is important to ensure that only the owner of the line has access to the voice mail. The mailbox is predetermined by the cell phone company and usually no one bothers to set it up.

This oversight is exploited by cybercriminals who often infiltrate to steal verification codes there and then hijack WhatsApp accounts to use for scams.

The best thing in these cases is to contact the telephone company to set up voicemail and have a password that only one knows.

SL