This is how cybercriminals manage to have stolen more than 100 WhatsApp accounts in Mexico during 2023
WhatsApp accounts are in danger all over the world, but it seems a little more so in Mexico. At least that is understood seeing how the CCPSJ (Citizen Council for Security and Justice) reported that Hacks on WhatsApp increased by 672% in all the country.
And the worst of all is that it is not because cybercriminals have careful systems with which to access cell phones like iPhones, since most are produced by facilities provided by the user. Not because they want to, of course, but because they are victims of increasingly elaborate scams that should be known to avoid them.
WhatsApp kidnappings in exchange for money
According to different experts in the field, such as Salvador Guerrero Ciprés, president of the CCPSJ, those behind the majority of WhatsApp account thefts are authentic criminal gangs. To the victims They ask them between 3,000 and 5,000 pesos in exchange for recovering their accountssomething that could be bringing them around 60,000 pesos a day by just scamming 20 people.
Most experts agree that the origin of the thefts comes from very localized scams. As is the case in countries like Spain, most scam attempts involve identity theft. And throughout Latin America, the most widespread thing is to impersonate WhatsApp itself.
Scammers contact claiming to be part of WhatsApp support, alluding to some type of problem that the account may have or some novelty that could not be implemented. They thus try to gain the victim’s trust until, through social engineering, they obtain their credentials.
As a general rule, this is obtained by asking them to share the screen under the pretext of helping them step by step to solve the problems or implement the novelty of the application. The victim, confident that she is speaking with WhatsApp technical support, agrees. At that moment, the scammers are seeing everything, so if they receive an SMS or login confirmation message, they can take advantage of it and, in parallel, log in to the victim’s number.
How to protect yourself from these scams
Needless to say that carrying distrust as a flag is vital. It doesn’t matter if whoever writes or calls you claims to be a reliable company. It is not common for a company to contact us through this means, much less to inform us of a problem or implement changes to our account.
Likewise, it is also recommended activate the WhatsApp two-step verification system. This is a very simple process that involves opening the WhatsApp app, going to the ‘Settings’ tab and then going to Account > Two-step verification. There you can add an access pin. It is also advisable to activate the passkeys in Setting > Account > Access keys.
Then, In case you have doubts about the person who writes to us, the best thing to do is ignore it and contact the company through trusted phone numbers and emails. In the case of WhatsApp itself, there is a contact form on its website.
Via | Xataka Mexico
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