WhatsApp scams are on the rise: how not to fall for the uncle 4.0 story

Most mortals let their guard down at some point. And that, cybercriminals – always on the prowl – know it. Worse on a Sunday. DA, a 44-year-old family man, had not yet opened his eyes around 9:30 on the so-called Lord’s Day when he was woken up by a call on his cell phone. His profile featured the logo of the Ministry of Health. A very friendly voice began to ask for information in order to update a database and provide him with the fourth dose of the Covid vaccine. DA suspected something fishy was going on. However, he desisted from his instinct and even turned a deaf ear to his wife who, next to him, insisted that he end the call. He was about to fall into one of the most widespread fraudulent maneuvers these days: WhatsApp identity theft.

The friendly voice tells him that they had to hang up and he had to wait for the communication of a “system call” that would give him a six-digit code. He had to write it down and provide it in a new communication to complete the process. It is what happened. Thus he gave the keys to his application to the virtual criminals, at the same time that he obstructed his own access. It is that WhatsApp offers the possibility of transferring to another number or device, as long as the aforementioned key is loaded.

“They quickly began to communicate with my contacts asking for money. I was like this for a week, which is more or less how long it takes to be able to recover it,” he explains to Tiempo DA, and notes that “at 12 o’clock WhatsApp allows you to return to the previous situation, but if they put a double pin with an email of them no longer, with which I had to reinstall the application and when it asked me for the associated mail, it indicated that it did not have it. The system, then, starts a countdown that returns it to you after a week”.

Lawyer Marcelo Szelagowski brought more than 150 similar cases to justice, especially against banks that refuse to return the money to the scammed: “These situations originate through deception, such as obtaining an alleged prize from a recognized company or an Anses lawyer who calls to verify something. It all depends on the creativity of the offender.” The ingenuity of the scammer does not end in obtaining WhatsApp. Then it must be credible for the victim’s contacts and that they deposit money. “Recently, the daughter of a client was deceived when an acquaintance invited her to change dollars via transfer,” points out the lawyer, who this week obtained a ruling from Chamber II in Civil and Commercial Matters of La Plata against Banco Provincia, who intended to continue collecting a credit taken out by virtual thieves (see box).

The origin of all evil

In a recent report, the consulting firm dedicated to cybersecurity, BTR Consulting, indicated that WhatsApp is “the origin of all evil”: eight out of ten users in Argentina use it for 99% of their communications. Together with Instagram and Facebook, “they are the vehicles for the greatest number of ‘uncle’s tale’ or ‘Social Engineering’ hoaxes. This explains the historical record of computer crimes and digital deception. In the last two years, after the start of the pandemic, attacks grew by 400%.

BTR adds that there was “an 80% increase in online crimes and scams with an economic impact. The first four months of the year already report an increase of 200%” and he speaks of “lone wolves and organized gangs to swindle and steal, swinging between techniques that involve high-tech resources and the typical deception of Uncle’s Tale 4.0”.

This consultant maintains that the new criminal modality via WhatsApp is the supposed gift of a telephone and 100 thousand pesos. Through different tricks, scammers provide a QR code and the victim uses it expecting to receive money in their bank account when in fact they have just made a payment. But why do people fall into these traps?

BTR highlights that “fraudsters create increasingly credible stories leveraged by the situation: bonuses, census or cash prizes; We all like free stuff. Phishing techniques are becoming more sophisticated to arouse less suspicion, we are programmed to obey the authority”. At the same time, it highlights the empathy of criminals and the solidarity of users, always ready to help in an emergency.

“You have to be very careful because WhatsApp also serves to validate some accesses to certain sites. It is usually a two-factor authentication system and if they have that, the risk may be greater”, reasons computer lawyer Daniel Monastersky, who hosts a podcast on these issues together with cybersecurity specialist Emiliano Piscitelli.

There is a basic problem: in the cell phone we store everything. Keys, apps, accounts. Monastersky insists on the importance of having all possible security measures: “there is another way to lose WhatsApp, which is when you lose access to your phone chip. This is crucial because the phone has a lot more information than the WhatsApp. The telephone today is life, there one has linked the cards, the banks, the post office or they can supplant the identity of the networks”. He argues that if the complaint is well formulated and all the evidence is available, justice in the vast majority of cases rules in favor of the victim, but stresses: “under no circumstances should the messages in question be deleted, because the Simple capture is not enough for the experts to determine the crime.”