WhatsApp: Don't give this number to anyone, even a friend

WhatsApp requires a 6-digit verification code when first launching the app. The code, effectively creating a 6-digit number, is sent to the user once they have entered their phone number. The creators of WhatsApp confirm in this way that the person is the owner of the number and physically has in their hand a smartphone with the given SIM card.

Unfortunately, technically nothing prevents providing someone else's number instead of one's own, and then exploiting this fact in fraud. As a result, if the victim of the attack provides a 6-digit code to the fraudster, they will take over their WhatsApp account and can use it for other attacks. For example, they may decide to attempt the popular mobile transfer scam

A scammer deliberately tries to log into someone else's WhatsApp account, providing the contact number of the chosen victim, and then contacts them, for example by SMS, suggesting that he accidentally entered the contact number incorrectly. So he asks for the 6-digit code from the SMS (which at this time the WhatsApp bot will actually send to the victim's number). Of course, this should not be done.

It is worth noting, lately, scammers try to add credibility to their case by pretending to be friends of the victim. Technically, this is possible, for example, when the scammer contacts the victim via Messenger and not text messages. They could have gained access to someone else's Facebook account as a result of a data leak on the Internet - this is a method often used in the case of the aforementioned "Blik" scams.