25 Million WhatsApp Users “Hacked”, Find out If you are a victim
Experts have raised the red flag indicating that, WhatsApp, the world’s most used instant messaging app has been affected putting its 1.5 billion users at risk of being hacked and spied on.
A malware by name “Agent Smith” has been reported to have replaced official WhatsApp on mobile phones with a fake version that also serves some form of advertisement on your mobile device. These advertisers indirectly make money for the crooks behind the fake WhatsApp application.
According to statistics, WhatsApp is used by some 1.5 billion users in 180 countries across the world. This has made it the world’s number one instant messaging app with India providing one of its biggest market of 200 million users.
Experts, Cybersecurity were those who discovered the bug. Estimates show that, about 15 million users in India, 137, 000 British and 300,000 American users are feared to have been affected by the bug.
According to experts, the malware puts you in a vulnerable position to suffer other forms of attacks that can also access your vital private information.
The fake app is serves nuisance adverts at random times which may be impossible to quit. A company in Guangzhou, China has been blamed for the scam. Persons who are more vulnerable are those who download apps from other app stores and sites rather than the Google Play Store.
How to detect if your WhatsApp has been hacked or compromised
- Do you receive ads when you open your WhatsApp? If yes, you might have the fake app operating on your phone because the standard app hardly serves ads.
- Now, whether you are sure or not, check your apps installed, check for Google updater or installer and uninstall it if you come across anyone.
- If you use android phone, follow the steps below to ascertain how safe and protected you are.
- Go to your phone’s settings.
- Click on either Apps or Application manager.
- Scroll until you find the suspected app then uninstall it.
- Remove all your recently installed apps if you cannot find it.
- Uninstall your current whatsapp.
- Go to Google Play Store and install the official Whatsapp.
Unfortunately, there are 11 other apps on Google Play Store that have this same rouge malware but the good news is that, they have been removed to increase your security but cross check your phones apps just in case spying app has already been installed on your phone.
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