Cybercriminals request a 6-digit verification code to steal WhatsApp accounts

15 Feb. (Portaltic/EP) –

The Civil Guard has warned of a malicious campaign in which cybercriminals request confirmation of a six-digit number through WhatsApp that allows access to the victims’ accounts.

“Hello. I’m sorry, I sent you a six-digit code by SMS by mistake, can you pass it on to me? It’s urgent,” the attackers indicate in a message sent through this platform and that has shared the armed institute

Although this type of deception is not new, the Civil Guard has indicated that certain users have recently received this message on their ‘smartphones’ and has alerted them to this problem so that they do not share the credentials received.

When creating a WhatsApp account, users access two different screens. One of them is the registration window, which appears when a new account is created or re-register an existing account.

To confirm that the phone number belongs to the user who wishes to access the Meta platform, Meta requests a registration code from six digits that is sent by SMS message or call to said number. It is at this point when there is a risk that a user other than the original wants to access the account of the potential victim.

This is precisely the detail that has alerted many users who, through WhatsApp, have received a message from an unknown sender that urges them to provide a series of digits received on the device after it arrived due to an alleged error.

In case users provide them, cybercriminals will have the opportunity to access their accounts without your consentso that the WhatsApp service will be disabled on the victims’ device.

For avoid this type of attack, WhatsApp has a two-step verification system that is optional. If activated, users will have to enter a PIN number – other than the six-digit code – when they re-register their phone number in WhatsApp.