187 WhatsApp account takeover reports recorded as of April 2024 — CSA

The Cyber Security Authority of Ghana (CSA) is warning the public about a significant rise in WhatsApp account takeovers resulting from social engineering scams.

According to a statement by the CSA dated May 27, 187 reports of WhatsApp hacking have been recorded so far this year, matching the total number of cases reported in all of 2023.

"We have noticed increased incidents of individuals falling victim to social engineering and sharing their WhatsApp verification codes with malicious actors, leading to unauthorised access and account takeover," said a portion of the statement.

The scams work by fraudsters disguising themselves as trusted contacts and pressuring victims to disclose their six-digit verification codes, which are sent when setting up or changing a WhatsApp account.

"Once the code is shared, the victim's account is compromised opening the door to unauthorised access and account takeover," the statement noted.

With access to accounts, the hackers then defraud contacts by impersonating the victims, noted CSA.

In some cases, they have succeeded in performing 'SIM swaps', taking over the victim's mobile number entirely.

In response, the CSA is urging people to never share verification codes with anyone for any reason.

They are also advising enabling two-step verification on WhatsApp for an extra layer of security.