Re:WhatsApp announces key transparency being added to WhatsApp
by abdullahkhalids on Thursday April 13, 2023 @05:15PM
(#35562149)
When I left Canada after my PhD, I stopped paying for my pre-paid phone plan for my Canadian number. A couple of months later, someone tried to scam my cousin in Pakistan, using Whatsapp. The scammer
1. Acquired my Canadian number.
2. Identified it as "my" account, and downloaded a picture of my social media to use as a Whatsapp display picture.
3. Somehow, identified my cousin as a potential target. Not sure how they did it.
4. Located where roughly my cousin lived. Perhaps via social media check-ins or some other way.
5. Asked my cousin to meet in a park not too far from his house, because I was in trouble and needed money.
Thankfully, my cousin did not fall for the scam and contacted me via other means to verify.
1. Acquired my Canadian number.
2. Identified it as "my" account, and downloaded a picture of my social media to use as a Whatsapp display picture.
3. Somehow, identified my cousin as a potential target. Not sure how they did it.
4. Located where roughly my cousin lived. Perhaps via social media check-ins or some other way.
5. Asked my cousin to meet in a park not too far from his house, because I was in trouble and needed money.
Thankfully, my cousin did not fall for the scam and contacted me via other means to verify.