Cybercriminals are sending messages to Whatsapp users claiming to be their friend. The cybercriminals do this in an attempt to trick their potential victims into sending them their WhatsApp OTP(One Time Password), which they will use to gain unauthorised access to their potential victims' accounts.
This is a WhatsApp scam where cybercriminals want access to your WhatsApp account via OTP verification. The moment you share the OTP with the hackers, you will be locked out of your WhatsApp account and the hackers will take control of it.
The hackers may then attempt to scam your friends and family using your account. This is why it is important to never share your OTP or personal information with anyone.
How to Protect Yourself
To protect your account, WhatsApp will send you a OTA push notification when someone tries to register a WhatsApp account with your phone number. To keep your account safe, don't share your verification code with others.
When you receive this notification, it means that someone has entered your phone number and requested the registration code. This often happens if another user mistyped your number when trying to enter their own number to register, and can also happen when someone attempts to take over your account.
You should never share your WhatsApp OTA or verification code with others. If someone is trying to take over your account, they need the SMS verification code sent to your phone number to do so. Without this code, any user attempting to verify your number can’t complete the verification process and use your phone number on WhatsApp. This means you remain in control of your WhatsApp account.
If you suspect someone else is using your WhatsApp account, you should notify family and friends as this individual could impersonate you in chats and groups. Please note, WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted and messages are stored on your device, so someone accessing your account on another device can't read your past conversations.
How to Recover Your Account
If your account has been hacked and taken over by cybercriminals, sign into WhatsApp with your phone number and verify your phone number by entering the 6-digit code you receive via SMS. Once you enter the 6-digit SMS code, the individual using your account is automatically logged out.
You might also be asked to provide a two-step verification code. If you don't know this code, the individual using your account might have enabled two-step verification. You must wait 7 days before you can sign in without the two-step verification code. Regardless of whether you know this verification code, the other individual was logged out of your account once you entered the 6-digit SMS code.