A new text scam is circulating in parts of Europe, urging people to vote in a contest under false pretenses. The scam, identified by cybersecurity experts at Bitdefender, uses emotional manipulation to deceive individuals into clicking on malicious links and divulging personal security codes.
The scam begins with a message requesting a vote for a contestant named Adeline, claiming to be the daughter of a close friend and vying for a scholarship. Despite the seemingly innocent nature of the message, it leads recipients to a counterfeit website where they are prompted to vote. Upon clicking, a prompt appears asking for the user’s phone number and a verification code sent to their device.
However, the scam is exposed when there is no genuine voting process, only a ploy to compromise WhatsApp accounts. Cybercriminals exploit the obtained phone numbers and security codes to hijack accounts, locking users out and using their contacts to perpetuate the scam and extract money or sensitive information.
Bitdefender disclosed that the scam has utilized 177 fraudulent domains and 554 unique URLs, targeting thousands of users in the past two months. The fraudulent scheme, known as the “Vote for My Child” scam, manipulates users into sharing verification codes, unwittingly enabling the fraud to propagate.
While the majority of attacks have occurred in countries like Poland, Romania, and Germany, the threat may extend to other regions, including the UK. To safeguard against such scams, Bitdefender advises users not to share verification codes and to report suspicious messages within WhatsApp.
Additionally, users are cautioned to verify requests for money or favors through direct phone calls and to exercise caution when encountering unusual messages. In case of a security breach, users are encouraged to request a new verification code, contact WhatsApp support, inform their bank about any unauthorized transactions, and notify their contacts about the compromise.
WhatsApp emphasizes the importance of not sharing verification codes with anyone to maintain account security. The messaging platform alerts users of unauthorized registration attempts by sending push notifications and advises against sharing verification codes to prevent unauthorized access.
