Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Forum has made a request not to provide any verification code received on their phone numbers to third parties due to the increase in complaints regarding financial frauds carried out by unauthorized access to WhatsApp accounts.

Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Forum (SLCERT) Senior Information Security Engineer Charuka Damunopola said that hackers join WhatsApp groups and monitor users’ accounts and after hacking the accounts, they send emergency messages to phone numbers asking for credit.

Accordingly, they request a secret code received on the phone number, mentioning opportunities such as religious programs, winning prizes or participating in educational programs, and through the concerned person providing that code, the hackers will be able to control their WhatsApp account and accordingly the phone will receive After giving the code to the hackers. They take control of his WhatsApp account and send urgent messages demanding money to the numbers connected to the account stating various problems.

However, if such a message is received, he should first contact the owner of that account and confirm whether the information is true and if it is known that a WhatsApp account has been hacked, the person who owns the account should immediately call the other phone numbers there and inform them about it.

The engineer says that it is possible to eliminate such financial frauds from Sri Lanka through awareness among the people.