Spain’s Police issue warning on ‘highly sophisticated’ scam circulating on WhatsApp

THE Guardia Civil have issued a statement about a ‘highly sophisticated’ scam which is currently circulating across Spain through WhatsApp.

Detailing the fraudulent activity, investigators state that a criminal gang have worked out a way to intercept the popular WhatsApp messaging service.

Here, users will receive a message from one of their contacts through the app which reads: “Hello, I’m sorry, I sent you a 6-digit code via SMS by mistake, can you pass it to me please? It is urgent.”

An SMS message is sent at the same time and once the code is handed over to the ‘contact’, members of the gang can take complete control of a user’s mobile phone through a harmful malware program. This is in order to gain access to personal information which is stored on a device.

Investigators ask civilians to reman alert and to not trust any message that asks for a code. They also recommend users to ensure that their security settings are stepped up in the application to prevent becoming a victim of this crime. This includes setting up a two-step verification process which requires a PIN code being used on the app, which only the user will know.