An ever-increasing number of citizens are reporting the receipt on their smartphones of sms messages such as "Hello, I sent you a code by mistake, could you send it back?", Which appear sent by users in their address book.
Very often users, misled by the presumed knowledge of the sender, do not hesitate to comply with the request, replying to the message, unaware that they are victims of a scam.
The code sent, in fact, allows cybercriminals to take over the WhatsApp account and use the instant messaging service to carry out further fraud using the victim's phone number, as well as to have access to the contacts saved in the address book, triggering a sort of " chain of Sant'Antonio "- the WhatsApp profile of the user who requests us to send him the code is actually our contact who in turn had his account violated, through the same fraudulent conduct -, which is now affecting thousands of citizens throughout Italy.
The Postal and Communications Police reminds you that:
- the codes that arrive by text message are strictly personal and must never be shared, even if requested by one of our contacts or by friends and / or family;
- never click on any links in the SMS;
- it is advisable to activate the so-called "two-step verification" available in the "settings-account of the App" area which allows us to enter a personal six-digit code, which the system asks us at the first access and for all modification operations that we will carry out on our profile;
- if we have fallen into the fraud it is necessary to immediately notify our contacts of what has happened to us so that they do not become potential victims of the chain;
How to recover your account:
- Log in to WhatsApp with your phone number and verify the number by entering the 6-digit code you receive via SMS;
- Once the 6-digit SMS code is entered, anyone using your account will be automatically logged out. You may also be asked to provide the XNUMX-Step Verification code. If you don't know the code, the person using your account may have turned on XNUMX-Step Verification.
For more information on two-step verification settings, see https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/account-and-profile/stolen-accounts/?lang=it
For any further information and for any report, the Postal and Communications Police is always available through our portal www.commissariatodips.it