WhatsApp scammers on the prowl to steal your money

Loss of cellphone network service, an unexpected request to approve a verification code you never initiated, and suddenly finding yourself logged out of your WhatsApp.

These are some of the warning signs that cybercriminals may have hijacked your WhatsApp account and could already be impersonating you to scam your friends, family, and colleagues out of money.

According to financial crime compliance and fraud prevention expert Hannes Bezuidenhout from Sumsub, messaging apps have become a prime target for cybercriminals because they are one of the main ways people communicate with family, friends, and businesses.

Sumsub is a global verification platform that helps businesses prove user identities, stop fraud, and follow anti-money laundering laws.

“We’ve seen fraudsters become much more sophisticated. They no longer rely on a single technique but combine phishing, social engineering, leaked credentials, and SIM swap attacks to increase their chances of success.”

“As these methods become easier to automate, account hijacking campaigns can target an unprecedented number of people simultaneously,” he said.

Last week, criminals used a hacked WhatsApp account belonging to Sowetan photographer Antonio Muchave to defraud Sunday Times digital sports editor Marc Strydom of R2,300. The scammers, posing as Muchave, convinced Strydom to transfer the money.

“The text just said, ‘Hey man, how are you doing? I have a problem with my card. Can you lend me money? I will bring it back in a day when the card is sorted out’.”

Strydom said he did not think twice about sending the money, as he has helped people before.

“So, I was like, ‘Okay, cool, how much?’ and he said R1,500. I sent a cash send, and in two hours he texted back asking for more. He said, ”R800, and again, I didn’t think much of it. I sent it,” he said.

Strydom said he became suspicious when the criminals asked for money for the third time. He called Muchave’s manager to find out what was happening.

Strydom said the reason he initially did not suspect foul play when he made the two payments is because the criminals got his name right and also because he knew Muchave as a colleague.

“The way it was put it was convincing; it was just a one-liner, and obviously I had WhatsApp messages with Muchave before.

“Me and my wife had people trying to scam us six times in the past few weeks without success, and this time I let my guard down, and it’s because it was from someone I know.”

Strydom said the money he has lost will have a huge financial setback, as he had taken it from his credit card.

Muchave said that he received a call from his son on Monday afternoon while at the Mozambican border telling him that people have been calling and asking if he [Muchave] was okay and why he is asking for money.

According to Homba Ngejane, a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), some of the common ways criminals access someone’s phone are through verification code scams, Device-linking scams, and Sim swap fraud.

Another person who was hacked in the past week is the department of correctional service spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo.

“They did a SIM swap, and I learned about it through a colleague who had received a message, a request for R2,500, from my number. He knows I am not someone who asks for money.

“When I checked my phone, it did not have coverage; I couldn’t even access my WhatsApp. I tried to call Vodacom, but they couldn’t help, so I had to go to Vodacom the next day. I also reported it to the police station,” he said.

On Thursday, the scammers also hacked JacarandaFM reporter Cliff Shiko while he was on a flight to Upington, Northern Cape, from Johannesburg.

“So, I had put my phone on flight mode, and when I got to Upington, the network was off, and I thought it was because of location, and I didn’t think much of it because even the people I was with told me that their network is poor.”

He said when he regained the network, WhatsApp had kicked him out and requested him to enter his details again.

After the process it demanded that he add the verification code they had sent to him. He did not get the message, and he took the phone to the service provider.

“They told me that someone had done a SIM swap, and upon recovering my number, I was shocked to get four texts from people who said they missed my call on Friday, and on the day I didn’t have network,” said Shiko.

In October, credit reporting agency TransUnion reported that between 57% and 68% of South Africans had been targeted by digital scams, including WhatsApp, SMS, and phishing attacks, over the previous 12 months.