With more than 2 billion users globally, WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging application in the world. We all use it on a daily basis to communicate with our family and friends, so many cybercriminals take advantage of its popularity to deceive us. On this occasion, the National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) warns of a new ‘phishing’ campaign that seeks to infect phones with a Trojan-type virus .
But what exactly does it consist of? Let’s explain it step by step. Hackers massively email millions of users with the subject “Backup WhatsApp Messages .” They pretend to be the company, and in the e-mail they attach a link that, supposedly, when clicking on it, a backup copy of the WhatsApp conversations and the call history is downloaded.
Nothing could be further from the truth. When users click on the link , they download a Trojan-type virus that, once downloaded and run, infects the phone with “malware .”
The National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) recommends that users delete the file from their mobile devices to users who have downloaded it but not executed it. In addition, it is recommended that you trash the email containing the link.
But what if they have already run the Trojan-type virus? The device must be scanned with an updated antivirus .
These types of phishing campaigns are the order of the day. Cybercriminals pose as all kinds of companies and official bodies to infect their victims’ phones, as well as to steal their personal or banking details.
A few days ago we also talked about a scam that uses a fake artist as a hook on WhatsApp and Bizum to deceive the victims and steal 50 euros from them .
You never have to click on any link or download files that appear in an email or SMS of dubious origin . The best thing, according to experts, if we receive an email from our bank, for example, asking us to enter online banking to carry out an operation, is that we contact the entity through official channels.
