WhatsApp users around the world have been told to watch out for fake messages, after hackers warned they had access to millions of phone numbers.
If you receive a WhatsApp message from a number you don't know in the coming weeks, it could be a scam, as a hacker claimed to have stolen 487 million WhatsApp account phone numbers and is now offering to sell them to the highest bidder.
The Cybernews website, which specializes in information security reports, confirmed that this attack is dangerous and targets real accounts.
The group of numbers includes users from all over the world, and the biggest impact seems to be affecting WhatsApp users in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.
After revealing some of their plans, the hackers told Cyber News that they were selling the US data set for $7,000, the UK data for $2,500, and Germany for $2,000.
Once this information is in the hands of cybercriminals, these numbers can easily be used to send spam, malicious links or messages intended to steal money.
The attack is represented by hackers pretending to be a relative and that they need money, and some users have lost thousands of dollars for responding to this trick.
Cyber News now urges all WhatsApp users to be wary of any calls from unknown numbers and spam calls and messages from contacts they don't know.
So if you receive any message that doesn't look right, don't reply to it and delete it without delay.
Speaking about the attack, Mantas Sasnauskas, Head of the CyberNews Research Team, said: "In this age, we all leave a large digital footprint - and tech giants like WhatsApp's Meta - should take all precautions and means to protect that data."
WhatsApp responded to Cybernews' claims, saying it had seen no evidence of an attack.
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