NEW YORK (WABC) — Scammers are eager to break into your accounts using new scam method that mimics a password reset request from WhatsApp.
It starts with a simple message and a seemingly harmless link, but after a quick click you’ve given these scammers access to something worth more than your credentials: you’ve exposed your saved contacts.
Scammers are using fake WhatsApp domains to impersonate others.
“You know your father, your mother, your sister, your children are going to get a message from you and you know, if they think it’s coming from you, they’re much more likely to believe it to be the story,” said Matthew Stern, CEO at CNC Intelligence.
Many malicious domains are being registered at a rapid rate.
“We found through WhatsApp… there’s over a dozen every day,”
Extra words, strange domains, and hyphens all to make you think you’re headed to the legit WhatsApp site.
Plus, two more phishing texts are trying to get you to take bait this week. Be on the lookout for fishy texts about Amazon recalls and Apple iPhones.
“Just remember at the end of the day all scams have the same DNA. They come out of the blue with urgency. They want to get you emotional, whether that’s with fear or with excitement,” Amy Nofziger with AARP’s fraud watch network said.
If something feels off, it probably is.
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