WhatsApp scams have upscaled over a period of time and courtesy of the short messaging platforms which have been operating across the world. These instant messaging platforms are giving numerous ways for hackers to control common people’s accounts.
Recently, there was another new WhatsApp related scam which got detected and claims to take control of the user account through a simple phone call.
It was Rahul Sasi, the CEO of CloudSEk, a contextual AI company who recognised the new WhatsApp scam.
What is this new WhatsApp scam?
As per the reports on Twitter for the new scam, the victims will a call from the hackers.
The caller will persuade the victim to call at '67' or '405'
Once the victim makes the call on the given number, they will get logged out of their WhatsApp accounts and hackers will get complete control of the victim’s account in a few seconds.
How Does This WhatsApp Scam Work?
The CloudSEK founder explains that the above-mentioned numbers which the victims will dial are actually service request numbers for Indian telecom operators like Airtel and Jio for 'call forwarding'.
This feature enables the user to divert calls when the number is busy or engaged.
Eventually, the hackers have been using this technique to forward victims' calls to their own numbers.
Moreover, they will simultaneously start the WhatsApp registration process on their smartphones along with generating and selecting the OTP verification through a phone call.
Now, due to call divert, the hacker will only get the OTP verification call. By this, hackers will get full control.
As per the security researchers, this trick could be used to get control of any WhatsApp account, if the user gives approval to the hacker for physical access to their phone.
Also, this is a must to remember that every country and the telecom operator has a similar service request number, this hacker trick is being used to attack the victims all across the world.
