WhatsApp scam in Dordogne: police warn against account hacking
The French National Police in Dordogne have alerted residents to fraudulent messages circulating on WhatsApp, inviting users to vote via a link that enables account hacking.
Fraudulent links stealing WhatsApp accounts
The French National Police in Dordogne have published a warning on Facebook to alert residents to a scam circulating on WhatsApp, according to sudouest.fr. Messages sent by trusted contacts — whose accounts have already been compromised — invite recipients to vote for a competition participant via a suspicious link.
Upon clicking on this link, the user is redirected to a fake WhatsApp page. They are then prompted to enter their phone number, followed by a six-digit code received by SMS. This information is sufficient for fraudsters to take control of the account and replicate it on other devices.
Police recommend not clicking on these links and never sharing one's validation code with anyone. They also advise enabling two-step verification in the application settings.
In the event of confirmed hacking, victims are invited to visit the official Ma Sécurité platform to carry out administrative procedures and file a complaint.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)