What and how to protect your account

A new WhatsApp scam is emerging where one can hack their WhatsApp through OTP verification. In this WhatsApp OTP scam, the hacker sends you personalized messages pretending to be your friend and asks you for an OTP. When you provide this OTP, your account will be locked and used by the hacker. Here we are talking about this scam in detail and there are also some tips to protect yourself from the said scam.

What is WhatsApp OTP scam?

In this scam, you will receive a message from a person claiming to be your friends informing you that they have signed out of your WhatsApp accounts and needs your help to log in. Hackers will say that they cannot receive OTP on your numbers, so you will receive an OTP on their behalf which you will need to forward to them.

Then you will receive an OTP on your number and the hacker will ask you to share it. When you do this, your WhatsApp session will be disconnected and the hacker will use your number on another device when you give them access to your WhatsApp through OTP validation.

What if you have shared OTP?

If you have been the victim of the WhatsApp OTP scam before, you should immediately reset your WhatsApp and log back in by entering your number and then a new OTP. This will disconnect hackers from other devices. After that, do not share any OTP with anyone.

Also check if your social network account has been hacked; How to secure it

Tips to protect your WhatsApp

Here are some things to protect your WhatsApp from these types of scams;

1) First of all, to avoid such scams, never share your OTP or personal information with anyone. Remember, WhatsApp never sends an OPT unless prompted to do so. So if you get an OTP for no reason then ignore it.

2) Also, don’t share it with anyone, not even your friends and family. If a friend or family member asks you the same thing, call them and see if they really need your help.

3) Two-step verification is helpful in preventing these types of scams. When you enable this feature, WhatsApp will ask you to enter a six-digit pin to configure.

Enable two-step verification on WhatsApp

1]Open WhatsApp and go to Settings from the three dot menu.

2]Now press Account and select Two-step verification.

3]Press Activate and you will be asked to enter a six digit PIN code.

4]Set a PIN code and Confirm, then enter your email id. and tap Done.

Here. Now whenever you want to set up your WhatsApp, it will ask you to enter the pin code.

Apart from these, WhatsApp also offers other privacy and security features. You can also read our detailed tips to make your WhatsApp account more secure.