WhatsApp Account Takeover Through a Shared Verification Code over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

Callers pretend to be bank staff, police, a courier, a telecom officer or a relative, and they try to keep you on the line while you act. WhatsApp Account Takeover Through a Shared Verification Code is one of the ways this shows up: A stranger or contact asks for the six-digit WhatsApp code you just received. It lets them take over your account and ask your friends for money.

What whatsapp account takeover through a shared verification code looks like over the phone

• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on the phone.
• A second "senior officer" who takes over the call.
• An unknown or international number, or a number that looks like a real office.

The scammer first needs a way to reach you and a reason for the code. He starts WhatsApp registration using your phone number, which makes WhatsApp send a code to you by SMS. Then he contacts you, sometimes from a hijacked friend's account, with a quick excuse such as a mistaken code, a contest entry or an offer of verification. The code and the story arrive within minutes of each other.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• You receive a verification code you did not request.
• Someone asks you to forward or read out that code.
• The message claims it was sent to you by mistake.
• A contact suddenly sounds rushed and cannot take a normal call.
• You are told to keep the call secret.
• The caller wants you to install an app to "fix" something.

What to do

1. Never share a verification code with anyone, however well you know them.
2. Turn on two-step verification in WhatsApp settings with a PIN only you know.
3. If you lost access, reinstall WhatsApp, register your number again and enter a fresh code yourself.
4. Never share an OTP or PIN. No genuine staff member needs it.
5. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
6. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

If money or a code is already gone

1. If you sent money, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in quickly.
2. If friends sent money, ask them to call 1930 and tell their banks with the UPI references.
3. Change your email password and review which devices are linked to your account.
4. Save screenshots of the fake requests and the sender details before they vanish.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Paste the message into Scam check in Safeavio Sentinel to see the reasons it looks risky, such as a request for a code. The Family code word in Money Shield helps you verify that a relative who asks for money is really your relative, even if his WhatsApp looks genuine. Safeavio does not read your messages by itself and cannot restore a hijacked WhatsApp account, which must be done in WhatsApp.

Full guide: WhatsApp Account Takeover Through a Shared Verification Code: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, SMS, social media.

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