🚨WhatsApp Hacked? Don't Panic! Read This.

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Locked Out of WhatsApp? Here's What to Do If Your Account Is Hacked

It’s hacked: A Mumbai-based couple became victims of a WhatsApp account hack after a deceptive message from a colleague. 

The compromised number, registered under advocate Chirag M. Shah’s name but used by his wife, Monica, had been targeted in a meticulously planned scheme.

Trusting her colleague and believing the request to be genuine, Monica complied without hesitation. Little did she know that the colleague’s number had already been hacked, and this was the scammer’s way of now gaining access to her WhatsApp account. 

What to do when your WhatsApp account is hacked? 

Referring to Shah’s case of WhatsApp hacking, cybersecurity expert Ashish Jha recommended victims email WhatsApp's official support address and use the platform's support page to report a hacked account. To do this, victims should:

• Visit the official WhatsApp Support page and select the ‘Contact Us’ option under the ‘WhatsApp Messenger Support’ section. 

• Provide their phone number in international format (e.g., +91 for India), an active email address, and select the platform used (e.g., web, iPhone, or Android).

• Clearly explain the issue in the text box, specifying that the account has been compromised and requesting immediate assistance.

• Submit the form. WhatsApp will respond via email with guidance to recover or secure the account against unauthorised access. 

• Also, you can enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and link an email ID to the WhatsApp account for added security. “Be aware of where your accounts are logged in and on how many devices,” Jha added. 

To enable 2FA, go to Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification > Enable. Set a 6-digit PIN and optionally add an email address for recovery.

DECODE

WhatsApp to LinkedIn: How Social Media Fueled a Surge in Cyber Scams In 2024

In 2024, social media became a perfect crime scene.

This year, Decode reported on how scammers have adapted to the changing digital landscape, using familiar social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube to mislead and defraud unsuspecting victims. 

• Bad actors used WhatsApp to target users with fake KYC requests, APK malware files, and even real-time screen sharing to steal sensitive data. 

• LinkedIn became a hotspot for scammers posing as recruiters for top companies. 

• Meta's ad systems were used by scammers to promote fake loan offers, fake "pregnancy jobs," and fraudulent opportunities for children's modeling.

Hera Rizwan recaps how the fraudsters rewrote the rules of social media – and how they turned our connections into their weapons. 

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍 Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and supporters shared a cropped video of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, to falsely show it as Gandhi admitting to pushing BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi at the parliament. Read 🔗 Archis Chowdhury’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍 A scripted video showing a group of men harassing a female passenger on a bus was circulated on social media with the false claim that it shows a real incident which happened in Delhi. 🔗 Srijit Das ↗️ debunked the claim.

🔍 An old video of a student in the United States posing a question to a panel about the negative portrayal of Islam around the world has surfaced with a misleading claim that she questioned the Muslim representation in US President elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks. Read 🔗 Anmol Alphonso’s ↗️ fact-check.

🅱️ RECOMMENDS

This week's recommendation is: Getting beyond the fact-check

Verified By Boom is written by Divya Chandra, edited by Adrija Bose and designed by H Shiva Roy Chowdhury.

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