Whatsapp has grown to become one of the largest platforms for instant messaging communication around the world, honestly speaking I don’t think it’s the best option out there, with other messengers like Telegram, Viber, and Facebook messenger having a lot more features, but the fact that Whatsapp for now does not support advertising, has a robust user base (so you’re most likely to already have your friends on the platform), is relatively simple to use, and has liaison with some internet service providers to allow some features of the messenger be available for free, it is the preferred messenger of choice, especially in Africa, most especially in Nigeria. In fact in Nigeria, people have formed businesses out of Whatsapp, some of them raking in millions of Naira, we’ll be writing an article soon that highlights some of these businesses, and how you could also participate in some of them.
With Whatsapp’s voluminous database of users, it makes it a prime target for malicious people who would want to steal data in order to have access to personal information of users and ultimately steal things of value…money, account details, sensitive information, etc. In recent times, Whatsapp has noticed this, and has taken steps to prevent malicious individuals from gaining access to accounts. In this article, we’ll be seeing how the fraudsters (yahoo boys) are able to gain access to Whatsapp accounts, and the measures Whatsapp has put in place to ensure that you never fall a victim.
How YahooBoys Do It (The Inside Man)
The man inside
It usually begins with an inside man who either works with a mobile network, or has access to their special customer services. What the yahoo boys want to do is clone the phone number of their mark with which they would use to open another whatsapp account with that cloned number on a different phone.
The back door for cloning is done through the popular service known as “welcome back”. Most networks allow you to be able to retrieve your phone number if it gets stolen or lost. Through the proper channels you’ll be required to provide a court affidavit or police report along side some necessary means of identification, but our Yahooboys have people on the inside who for a little fee, would allow you do welcome back on any phone number without being asked too many questions. Last year, I searched on the black market and was able to find two verified vendors who for a small fee would do welcome back of any common phone number.
You may wonder how the yahoo boy decide the numbers they want to clone, well, it’s not so difficult, after observing their mark, they then try to find his/her phone number. It’s not so hard to get a person’s phone number nowadays especially a business person.
Once the phone number has been cloned, the yahoo boys then create a duplicate whatsapp account which still holds all your information. From the sim card, they can also access some of your stored contacts, and begin to send them fraudulent messages. Trust me, when this happens, it can deal a huge blow in the reputation of your business if they have access to a business phone number.
The Damage That Can Be Done
Like I said earlier you’ll never want to be in this position, trust me it can make even the strongest people faint, some damage the fraudsters could do include, and are not limited to:
1. Collect money from your contacts through false solicitations, this can greatly damage your reputation
2. They can monitor your conversations, and through that obtain sensitive information, know your location, and even know private information about you or your business
3. Oh, did we mention they can also monitor your whatsapp calls too.
There’s many more damages these fraudsters could do, some even worse than the ones above. That’s why it’s important you are in the know, and you take all necessary steps to stay secure.
How Do You Stay Safe/and What Do You Do If You Get Hacked
Staying safe
Well, no one ever decides to be a victim of a hack, you may just be unlucky and catch the eye of a yahoo boy who sees potential gains from you, so it’s important you stay safe at all times, here are some important measures you can take.
1. If you start receiving strange calls on your phone, be sure to immediately contact your mobile network and ask them to run a check on your line.
2. Be careful where you provide your mobile number as you may never know who has access to it. Only provide your number to trusted people, and at trusted places and websites.
3. Enable two factor authentication on whatsapp:
Step 1: Tap the option “settings”
Whatsapps Menu Tab
Step 2: Tap the option “Account”
Whatsapp Settings Menu
Step 3: tap the option “Two-step verification”
Whatsapp Account Settings
Two factor authentication would demand that a unique pin would be provided before access be gained to a freshly registered whatsapp account. This means that even if the fraudsters have cloned your sim card, they would not be able to login to your whatsapp account without that unique pin. Two factor authentication is one of whatsapps fore most solution in tackling whatsapp hacks.
It’s important you setup your two factor authentication before a hack because if you get hacked, the criminals could do it for you and lock you out. There have been incidents where hackers even demand for ransom to set a person’s account free.
If you’ve been hacked, quickly alert your contacts and your mobile network through their customer service. Also, ensure that all sensitive data is put out of sight, immediately make attempts to delete that account and re-register once you are sure your account has been freed.
What Next, and How You Can Help Others
Whatsapp is an awesome community and platform, and no community is without its challenges. Be sure to stay safe while on whatsapp, and ensure your data is always protected. Don’t forget to share this article, you might just be saving someone from a terrible hack.
laugist.tech.blog 