WhatsApp users need to be vigilant. Don't let your account be controlled by someone else secretly.
If WhatsApp gets hijacked, the user will experience a number of losses starting from leaking communications, contact numbers, data, photos, videos and others. The point is that our privacy is the victim.
Not to mention another problem is that malicious actors can take advantage of our WhatsApp, contact numbers in it and various information. It could be then, the perpetrators launch a fraud mode against other people.
For this reason, we must be vigilant and suspicious if there are a number of signs of a hijacking attempt on our WhatsApp account. Compiled by us from various sources, Monday (27/9/2022) the following are a number of indications.
Signs of a hijacked WhatsApp account:
1. Receive SMS OTP
One Time Password (OTP) is a crucial factor in the security of your WhatsApp. This 6 digit code should not be given to anyone.
If an OTP WhatsApp SMS appears on your cellphone, it means that there is an attempt to penetrate it from another device. The solution: Just ignore the SMS.
If social engineering or engineering attempts to contact you to ask for a 'stray OTP code' occurs, ignore it! Remember your OTP is only for you.
2. Exit yourself from WhatsApp Web
Many people connect WhatsApp on smartphones with WhatsApp Web on laptops. This can be a detection tool as well.
If you suddenly log out of WhatsApp Web, it means that someone else is using it. The solution: find out who is trying to access it by opening the WhatsApp application on your phone, clicking on point 3 and clicking Linked Devices.
It will show which devices are connected to your WhatsApp. Quoted from India Today, if your WhatsApp is active from a device you don't recognize, immediately disconnect from that foreign device.
3. Message read or sent by yourself
If a message is read and you don't think you've ever read the message, there's a possibility that your WhatsApp account has been hijacked. Even so if there is a message sent to another contact, but did not send it. There are indications that your WhatsApp has been hacked.
4. Online status by itself
If your WhatsApp is declared online, even though it is not active, this could also be an indication of piracy. To test it, try checking your WhatsApp status through someone else's account, for example from another family member's smartphone or a close friend.
5. Smartphones heat up quickly, the battery runs out quickly
If your phone is heating up frequently, or the battery is draining faster than usual, especially if you have an unknown and ongoing download notification, this is an indication that a malicious third-party app is at work. Those are tips from Technique How.
A hot phone means the processor is doing heavy work and could be an indication of eavesdropping. Try checking settings and clicking Battery to check Battery Usage, try to see if there are foreign applications that consume your cellphone power. Just delete the foreign application for security.