How to stop Hackers from Accessing your WhatsApp
WhatsApp is one of the easiest messaging apps to connect with friends and family. It used to be a safe personal account for people, but hackers have taken to ways and means to invade these accounts for their agendas.
They hack into a friend’sfriend’s WhatsApp and send you messages with a person’s number; you’d have no idea who you’re you’re texting because it’s your friend’sfriend’s number that has been texted you.
The scam works when hackers send a user a code via text on their smartphone, followed by a WhatsApp message from someone on their contact list. When the “friend” asks the recipient to share the code, the hacker can easily access their WhatsApp account.
You can be blocked from your account using just your phone number. Jack Moore warned that “one that could impact millions of users” who could potentially be targeted with this attack. With so many people relying on WhatsApp as their primary communication tool for social and work purposes, it is alarming at ease this can occur.
When you first install WhatsApp on your phone or change phones, the platform will send you an SMS code to verify the account. Once you enter the right code, the app will ask for your 2FA number to ensure it’s you. Then you will be let in.
How hackers are gaining access to your WhatsApp
We frequently see warnings of different types of scams where users are tricked into giving out a code normally sent during a new WhatsApp installation.
That’s how these hackers hijack your account. They take absolute control over the account and even sometimes end up blocking other accounts. It takes a lot of time and stress to try and restore your account once this is done.
How to prevent hackers from gaining access to your WhatsApp
There are a few ways you can prevent your WhatsApp account from getting hacked.
To protect your WhatsApp account from being hacked, you should log out of all active WhatsApp Web sessions.
Logging out from WhatsApp Web sessions will prevent hackers from accessing your account. Also, never connect your phone to an unknown WiFi connection without a VPN(Virtual Private Network) as hackers can use the unique MAC address to obtain all your details.
Below is a list of a few ways you can prevent your WhatsApp account from getting hacked.
Always download the correct version of WhatsApp from the App Store or Google play store.
Unsupported versions of WhatsApp are not safe. These apps contain loopholes that can give hackers access to your account by any small negligence.
Make sure you set up two-step verification.
To do this, click on settings in WhatsApp, select account, then choose two-step verification to enter a 6-digit PIN.
Once this is done, WhatsApp will be safe for use and free from hackers.
Reach out to any friend who you feel has been hacked.
Sometimes you notice something unusual from a friend you’re you’re in a WhatsApp group with, which is very similar to what we’ve we’ve discussed in this article, what you have to do is call the person and verify from them if they still have control of their accounts and if they’re, they’re the ones sending such messages.
Remove the hacked individual from the group.
If it turns out the person was hacked, the best thing to do to prevent other people from falling as victims is to contact the group admin to remove the person from the group.
You need to remove the individual from the group is because if someone’s account is hacked, it can also cause other people’s accounts to be blocked.
WhatsApp over the years has become the main messaging app worldwide. So while using this app, users should take caution and be on the lookout for hackers. Hackers invade WhatsApp accounts because they know they can reach out to many people through a person, so users should take caution of such situations.
