UAE residents, be wary of certain WhatsApp messages you receive that may end up stealing your account.

The caution has been sounded in an advisory by the UAE's Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT) - a cyber coordination centre under the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). According to the advisory, aeCERT has found a group of hackers posing as members of WhatsApp's support team to dupe unsuspecting users. The hackers steal the victim's account and hijack their session.

The advisory, which was marked as critical, shows a screenshot of the scam in action. The attacker - pretending to be WhatsApp staff - asks for a verification pin from the user that's sent via SMS for access to one's account. Providing the attacker with the pin will allow him to gain access to your account and your active session.

aeCERT suggests several steps to ensure UAE residents avoid becoming a victim of this scam. The centre advises users to avoid responding to messages requesting personal information, giving your number to public parties, click on dubious links from unknown sources as well as enabling WhatsApp's two-factor authentication feature.

From: Khaleejtimes