South African WhatsApp Accounts Targeted by Cyber Criminals

• Cybercriminals are hijacking South Africans' WhatsApp accounts to impersonate them and con their trusted contacts out of thousands of rands
• Fraudsters use tactics like SIM swaps, spyware, phishing, and AI tools to lock account owners out completely
• In one recent case, a journalist's account was taken over and used to successfully trick a colleague into sending cash payments

South African WhatsApp users are facing a growing threat as cybercriminals take control of their accounts and use them to defraud friends, family, and colleagues.

How scammers take over WhatsApp accounts

Fraudsters use tactics like SIM swaps, spyware, phishing, and AI tools to access profiles, with social engineering emerging as one of the biggest fraud trends in South Africa. According to a report by MyBroadband, rather than targeting systems directly, criminals manipulate people into handing over sensitive information, such as one-time passwords (OTPs), which grant full access to an account.

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Silent takeovers via "Linked Devices"

Beyond complete lockouts, fraudsters are also executing silent account takeovers by exploiting WhatsApp's "Linked Devices" feature (source: Bitdefender / Norton Security). In this scheme, scammers send a deceptive link or contest prompt that asks users to enter a verification code, which secretly pairs an unauthorised browser directly with the account. Because victims are never locked out of their app, criminals can silently monitor private conversations in real-time and solicit cash from contacts without raising immediate suspicion.

Cybersecurity professionals say this kind of attack is particularly dangerous because victims have no reason to be suspicious. When a message arrives from someone you know, your guard drops.

How to protect yourself

To protect yourself, experts urge all WhatsApp users to enable two-step verification in the app's settings. This adds a PIN that must be entered when registering your phone number on a new device, making it far harder for criminals to complete a takeover. Users are also warned never to share OTP codes with anyone, no matter how legitimate the request appears.

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3 Other articles about scams

• Briefly News reported that the SABC warned TV licence holders about a phishing scheme tricking people into sharing banking details for a fake refund.
• Employment experts are urging job seekers to carefully verify recruiters and listings before applying, warning that illegitimate postings often demand upfront fees or use unverified contact details to target vulnerable applicants.
• A clever South African woman won praise online after recording herself outsmarting an alleged scammer who called trying to trick her into handing over her banking details and one-time PIN (OTP).
• South African dating platform DatingBuzz rejected claims circulating that its security was hacked by scammers, exposing subscribers' personal information.
• An American woman, Anum Anyeka, and her family were allegedly scammed out of $300,000 (R5.1M) by her Danish husband, who fabricated his wealth to fund a severe gambling addiction.

Source: Briefly News