WhatsApp is once again at the center of an extremely serious alert that targets billions of users around the world, and this is because we are again talking about an extremely serious problem that we should know about. More precisely, it seems that an attack that did not disappear during the last year, and which was based on the naivety of users whose accounts were stolen through not very complex phishing methods, is spreading again very quickly.
WhatsApp has been targeted by this attack for a very long time, as some of you already knew, the attackers using people's trust in contacts from their address book to steal their accounts. The attackers initiate the login to the victim's account on a phone, and the victim receives an SMS from WhatsApp with a 6-digit code that must be entered in the new phone for that account to be logged in, and this is where the entire procedure for stealing that account takes place.
WhatsApp: Important Alert for Billions of Users
WhatsApp cannot block this because everything is part of the usual procedure by which users log into their accounts within the platform, only that it is used against people. The attackers use other stolen accounts to create the impression that the victim is talking to a friend, and ask them for the respective code for various reasons, generally saying that it is necessary to recover their own WhatsApp account, when in reality they are using it to steal the victim's account, all without her knowing what is happening.
However, WhatsApp also has a function in the application for phones that offers us the opportunity to protect ourselves against this type of attacks, requiring the setting of a 2-step authentication code. If this code is active for WhatsApp, then no one will be able to steal our account without first knowing that code, and you should never tell it to anyone because there is no reason for another person to know it unless they log in with your account.
WhatsApp has tried to teach its users how to protect themselves against attacks of this kind, but unfortunately many people are still fooled by attackers.
