WhatsApp Data Leak: WhatsApp is a popular mobile app used by millions of people to communicate in real-time. In recent reports, approximately 500 million phone numbers have been leaked and are up for sale. The data comes from 84 different nations, one of which is India. If someone were to try to sell these numbers illegally, they could potentially spam your phones with spamming calls or text messages.
WhatsApp has announced a data leak that affects nearly 500 million accounts.
The cyber-attackers used a hacking website to sell the personal data of 487 million WhatsApp users. They also took information from 32 million in the United States, 45 million in Egypt, 29 million in Saudi Arabia, 35 million in Italy, and 11 million users in the UK. In addition, data on millions of people living in India were leaked.
Caught in a cybercriminal sting, the hacker was selling their data on the black market at prices ranging from $7,000 (around ₹5.71 lakh) in the United States to $2,500 (around ₹1.04 lakh) in the UK and $2000 (around ₹1.63 lakh) in Germany.
Suppose your WhatsApp numbers and other data are leaked. In that case, negative factors such as phishing scams and more online crimes can access that information.
A new report was released today that revealed how a threat actor tried and failed to buy 1,097 British names and 817 US phone numbers from a data broker. However, there needs to be a word on how the data was acquired.
Facebook has a history of user data leaks. In 2021, hackers published over 500 million Facebook users’ personal information and identity documents on a hacking forum, affecting over 6 million people in India. There is no further comment on the same at this time. Plus, it needs to be clarified which users have been affected, and there isn’t any way to find out.
You need to know where your data is. CyberNews provides an easy way to find out if your account has been compromised, and the easiest way is just by looking at the website. If it has been, it’s best to change your passwords and add layers of security like 2FA. You can ensure everything is safe and secure by avoiding suspicious links or WhatsApp messages. In case you come across any, report them immediately.
