A post on the “Known Hacking Community Forum” claims that nearly half a billion WhatsApp records have been hacked and are up for sale.
The post, which multiple sources have confirmed to be likely true, claims to be selling a 2022-recent database of 487 million mobile phone numbers used on WhatsApp, which contains data from 84 countries.
This means that nearly a quarter of the estimated 2 billion monthly active WhatsApp users are at risk.
WhatsApp data breach
More than 32 million of the leaked records are said to be from users in the US, and 11 million from UK users. Other affected countries include Egypt (45 million), Italy (35 million), Saudi Arabia (29 million), France (20 million), Turkey (20 million), and Russia (10 million).
Individual country data appears to be up for grabs, with the US data set up $7,000 and the UK numbers up for a similar figure per capita of $2,500.
Even more troubling is that it doesn’t appear to be an empty promise designed to threaten the Meta-owned company, as nearly 2,000 numbers have been shared with the company. Internet news In an application form they are verified as a WhatsApp user.
Leaked phone numbers can be used for any number of reasons, including marketing and phishing, highlighting the importance of the commodity Identity theft protection tool.
This isn’t the first time WhatsApp has made headlines regarding data security, and while it may not be alone, its history is one of vulnerabilities and scams.
Radar Pro Technology I have reached out to Meta to verify this seller’s claims and to obtain further feedback, which will be posted here if received.
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