Monday, January 2, 2023 | 11:15 a.m.
During 2022, in Latin America there were 137,000 million cyberattack attempts according to Fortinet, with Peru, Mexico and Brazil being the countries in which phishing (deception of users) was the most used modality and the one that prevails in WhatsApp with a false message. or impersonating someone or a brand.
Last year, the messaging app was used by cybercriminals to make job offers that didn’t exist, requests for money from fake accounts and attempts to steal users’ verification codes. Cases that should serve as an alert and a learning opportunity for all those who use the platform, since these practices are not going to stop and, on the contrary, will evolve into new formats so that deception is much less evident. So here is a summary of the most used methods in 2022 to keep them in mind and not fall for them in this 2023.
false support system
Obtaining the verification code for an account is one of the most repeated objectives. Having that combination of numbers will allow the criminal to access a person’s account, since it is a unique password per user and allows the profile to be opened from another device.
So one method was to send a message to people claiming to be the WhatsApp support system and advising of a login from an iPhone 7. In the message they asked the user to answer if it had been him or not, if it had been. a refusal they insisted to the point of threatening to block the profile.
cheating SMS
Although this theft attempt is not properly within the platform, it does use it as an excuse, because it sends the person a text message with a false confirmation code accompanied by a link, which is the real trap.
What the cybercriminals want is for the victim to enter that link so that malware can be downloaded to the phone and carry out another type of attack. If you receive this message, it is important to check if someone else is trying to access the account.
Job offers and raffles
This scam was repeated several times. Using the name of well-known companies, the criminals sent messages to users through WhatsApp warning of a job offer from home, with a high payment and for a few hours.
The trick was to enter the link from where the process of linking to the company was supposedly carried out, but in reality it was the entrance to the download of viruses that affect the phone or the opportunity to collect personal data with false forms.
The modality was repeated with messages about raffles in which the victim had won a prize or where they could participate, as well as false offers for a premium version of WhatsApp that promises new functions. You should always be wary of these kinds of extraordinary offers that are too big to be real.
a false contact
Account theft is to continue attacking more users, since by taking a profile they also have access to their contacts and conversations, which gives the victim more confidence to deliver information.
In this type of situation, the best way to verify that it is someone you know is by calling the cell phone directly or speaking with a third party to confirm the situation.
The iPhone 15 could reduce its price
After experiencing problems in the sales of the iPhone 14, especially its iPhone 14 Plus models, Apple would be proposing a change in the price plan for the next series that would be available to the public in September of next year.
According to the Macrumors website, Apple is “seriously concerned” about the sales performance of the “non-Pro” variants of its smartphones and would be studying a reduction in the prices of the next models of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus to boost customers to buy. They would be priced at $799 and $899.
Amazon Prime will launch an exclusive app for sports leagues
The streaming application Prime Video could have a significant change soon, since Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, would have raised the idea of broadcasting live sporting events, as a new option for users. “Amazon Sports” would be the name and only some content options are being discussed. The new platform would also have a difference with respect to Amazon’s main platform, and that is that since sports content requires the payment of transmission rights, either for teams or entire leagues, there could be an additional subscription price for the Username.
