WhatsApp Scam: Scammers Are Now Posing As ‘WhatsApp Technical Team’ To Steal Verification Codes

A new WhatsApp scam has been uncovered in which another WhatsApp account pretends to be an official communication from WhatsApp technical team, asking users to share their verification code.

According to a tweet posted by WhatsApp feature tracker WABetaInfo, who shared the post from another twitter user Dario Navarro who asked about a fishy message that WhatsApp users were receiving.

As per the screenshot shared by Dario Navarro, the scammer sends a message in Spanish asking users to verify their identity by providing their six-digit verification code that is gotten via SMS message. This code is usually sent by WhatsApp to users to activate an account on a new device, and as well, help protect the users account from an impostor.

This is #FAKE. WhatsApp doesn't message you on WhatsApp, and if they do (for global announcements, but it's soooo rare), a green verified indicator is visible.
WhatsApp never asks your data or verification codes.@WhatsApp should ban this account. 😅 https://t.co/nnOehPL8Ca

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) May 27, 2020

To make the scam look more genuine and to convince unsuspecting users to fall for the scam, the profile picture of the bad actor has a WhatsApp logo on it.


First of all, WhatsApp don't use its platform to communicate with users. Instead, it uses other social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook or the official blog which it uses for public announcements.

Lets say in one very occurrence WhatsApp happens to message you on its platform. The profile picture will carry a green indicator alongside the logo and the account name to show that it is verified.

Also, WhatsApp will never ask users to provide any form of data, including verification codes. The Facebook-owned company in its FAQ section clearly states that users shouldn't share their SMS verification to anyone.

"You should never share your WhatsApp verification code with other," WhatsApp's FAQ reads. "If someone is trying to take over your account, they need the SMS verification code sent to your phone number to do so. Without this code, any user attempting to verify your number can't complete the verification process and use your phone number on WhatsApp. This means you remain in control of your WhatsApp account."

For those whose accounts ended up in the hands of scammers, visit this link to learn how to recover it.