Those were the times when Facebook was at the peak when it comes to hacking an account and now other than social media platforms, the focus has shifted to messaging apps and they have become the largest target of scammers and hackers. Being a renowned and widely used messaging app across the globe, ‘WhatsApp’ is on the number one spot on hackers list these days with Whatsapp OTP Scam. So, what could possibly happen after your WhatsApp account gets hacked?
A lot of personal data is exchanged on WhatsApp between two individuals or in a group and once the hackers have breached through security then there is no one to stop them from leaking all your personal information like photos, bank details, private chats, and many more. One more thing that happens the most is, spreading false messages to others from hacked accounts which leads to the spreading of anti-social or anti-national activities. So, here is all you need to know about the new WhatsApp OTP scam.
Hackers have found a new way of hacking into users’ whatsapp accounts in one step which only requires an OTP. When you try to log in for the first time into your WhatsApp account, an OTP is generated and this is the only step in which the hacker can take advantage of you. He may pretend that he sent the OTP by mistake and may show urgency by asking you to forward the OTP pin back which you have received on your smartphone.
As soon as you forward the pin to them after believing their excuse, they will gain access to your WhatsApp account and you will be in big trouble if you have shared your sensitive data in the past with anyone and this is how you will be locked out of your own WhatsApp account. They can also misuse your account and send scam messages to other people on your friend list.
That is why it is always said to be alert all the time from these scammers and do not respond immediately or follow their request. A better way to handle these kinds of situations is you can directly call that person and verify him. Now, a question arises, how to stay protected from these scams?
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A basic step to keep yourself safe from these scams is to never disclose an OTP with anyone. OTP’s are always the last step in a security protocol, be it for accessing an account or making a payment. Another way to keep your WhatsApp account secured is by enabling Two-Step authentication all the time. You can enable it by tapping the Three dots (on top right corner) -> Account -> Two-Step Verification.