March 16, 2023
CyberHUB has been receiving a number of support calls, dealing with unauthorized access to WhatsApp accounts and fraudulent registrations using individuals’ phone numbers. In some cases, persons who have never registered on WhatsApp or owned a smartphone find their names and an unfamiliar image under a different name in the WhatsApp contacts of their acquaintances.
Efforts to retrieve such accounts often fail, because hackers activate two-factor authentication on hacked accounts. However, CyberHUB has discovered that suspending two-factor authentication is possible. Or order to do that, a user needs to attempt to install and activate WhatsApp. Naturally, this results in a failed attempt, because the user is faced with the 2fa prompt. However, upon such a failed attempt for registration, WhatsApp suspends the account and eventually disables the 2fa. So if the user attempts to recover the account again in 7 days, the account can be restored and the additional second factor code is no longer required.
If your WhatsApp account has been hacked, we urge you to follow the aforementioned steps to recover it, as hackers may use your registered phone number for further attacks.
Check out the video below for the explanation of the recovery process in Armenian.