Journalist reports attempted WhatsApp scam using a known contact number

Santo Domingo. – Journalist Joseline Reyes warned this Wednesday about an attempted scam of which she was a victim through WhatsApp, through a mechanism that involves the fraudulent use of the phone number of a known contact, possibly hacked. Reyes explained that he received a message from the number of a known person, which generated initial trust. Minutes later, the scammers sent him a verification code, claiming that they had sent it by mistake and requesting that he forward it.

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The journalist immediately identified the digital fraud pattern used by criminals to gain access to messaging accounts or redirect to malicious links.

“Es una estrategia común para robar información personal, incluyendo credenciales bancarias, números de tarjetas o datos de cuentas de ahorro”,

advirtió Reyes.

This type of scam has been frequently reported by users on different digital platforms, and consists of taking advantage of the trust generated by a known contact to manipulate the victim. Joseline Reyes urged the population not to share codes or links received by message, even if they come from close contacts, and to verify by other means the authenticity of any suspicious request. He also recommended enabling two-step verification on their messaging accounts and reporting any fraud attempts to the relevant authorities.