A fake contest message asking you to vote for a child is spreading again, and one code typed into the wrong site can hand criminals your WhatsApp account.
A WhatsApp scam that asks you to vote for a child in a contest is back, with new reports in France, Belgium and Spain. The message looks harmless because it comes from someone you know. That person's account may already be in a criminal's hands.
The message usually reads like a small favor: could you vote for a friend's daughter in a contest? It may name a child, such as Sophie or Eliska, and point to a dance, gymnastics or school competition. Jérôme Notin, head of French cyber help service Cybermalveillance, told AFP that reports seem to have risen a lot since the weekend.
Security company Bitdefender says this is not new. Last October it tracked the same scam across hundreds of fake web addresses. It was strongest in Poland, Romania and Germany, with activity in several other countries. The criminals reuse what works and only swap names and contest themes.
The link leads to a contest site that looks real. The site then asks for your phone number and a six-digit code that WhatsApp sends to your phone. Voting does not need that code. It lets the criminals connect their own device to your account.
Once criminals control an account, they can use it against everyone in your contact list. Bitdefender notes that a taken-over account can sit quiet, so the owner may not notice while criminals pick the best moment to strike. One victim told AFP his contacts received urgent money requests, claiming he could not afford a medical consultation.
Getting the message is not the same as being hacked. The takeover depends on someone entering the code or approving a login on the fake site. If you never did either, the account step described here has not happened to you. The material does not say how many people have been affected.
The steps are in the alert box above. The key habit is simple: treat a WhatsApp code like a password, and check with the sender by phone before tapping any link, even from a close friend. If a contact's message seems off, WhatsApp itself says it can mean their account was compromised.
Never type a WhatsApp code into a website, and call the sender before tapping any contest link, even from someone you trust.
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