WHATSAPP users have been put on alert about a rising identity theft con tricking people out of their money.
So-called SIM swapping is a well-known technique used by fraudsters, where they clone a phone number by assigning it to a new SIM card.
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This means they can then get hold of any sensitive bank details or passwords using your phone number to appear as if it’s you.
Worryingly, all the attacker needs is your phone number to pull it off.
Experts have warned that these types of tactics are on the up.
Over the last year, there has been a surge of about 120% in accounts being stolen, as well as the amount of phishing and ransomware attacks on popular apps like WhatsApp, according to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
“All a criminal needs is our phone number to set the process of identity theft and extortion in motion,” expert Dmitry Bestuzhev told El Pais.
“Many people share very sensitive information, and in a very short space of time the victim has lost control of their accounts.”
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When the attack happens, it usually causes the victim’s services to temporarily stop for a few short minutes.
But this is plenty of time for bad actors to get hold of what they need.
Then there’s the threat of social engineering.
This is where conmen use voice bots to make bogus calls as if they’re from companies you use and try to convince you into revealing passwords.
“Even family members of security professionals have fallen victim to this crime,” Bestuzhev warned.
To avoid being caught out people are urged to set-up two factor authentication.
It’s also recommended users beware not to click links in large groups to dodgy looking websites.
But above all, Bestuzhev says people should simply not share sensitive information via messaging apps at all, because it’s just too risky.
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In other news, personalised smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to U.S. consumers this year.
Tech giant Microsoft is trying to make the world more woke by rolling out an “inclusiveness” checker in its Word software.
And a federal anti-trust case against Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has been given the go-ahead.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
