Pakistani users grapple with surge in WhatsApp hacks

KARACHI: Two weeks ago, Muhammad Umair, a resident of Etihad Town, a suburb of Karachi, received a call from his friend Sajid Kamal in the morning. Sajid inquired about Umair’s mother’s condition and assured him of all possible support. Umair told Sajid that his mother was fine and physically stable.

Umair expressed surprise at Sajid’s early morning call and asked for the reason. Sajid said that he had received a message from Umair’s WhatsApp number during the night, mentioning about Umair’s mother’s illness with a request transfer of Rs50,000. Due to a lack of funds in his EasyPaisa account, Sajid could not send the money that night, so he wanted to confirm from Umair the hospital’s address in the morning.

Umair was shocked to hear this and insisted that no such message was sent from his side. Sajid then sent Umair a screenshot of the message, which indeed came from Umair’s number and included his profile photo. Alarmed, Umair informed the relevant authorities and warned all his friends that a hacker had misused his WhatsApp account to demand money. He advised them not to send money if they received such messages and to notify him immediately.

With the increase in WhatsApp usage in Pakistan, several cases of hacking have emerged recently. According to Asif Iqbal, Deputy Director of the Cyber Crimes Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), multiple incidents of WhatsApp hacking incidents have occurred in Pakistan recently. He mentioned that not only can mobile phones and WhatsApp accounts be hacked, but also cameras.

Asif Iqbal told Urdu News that “WhatsApp can be protected from hacking by using two-factor authentication. In most cases, users unknowingly provide the hacker with the code needed to hack their IDs, leading to misuse.”

Also read: FIA warns against cybercriminals hacking Whatsapp accounts

He emphasised that once an ID is hacked, it can be easily recovered, but awareness is crucial. “The account hack should be reported first, and then after a few hours, the ID can be recovered through your SIM.”

According to Asif Iqbal that any user can easily file a complaint on the FIA portal, potentially avoiding significant trouble.

Noman Syed, an expert in preventing cybercrimes, stated that new users are increasingly joining social networking platforms worldwide. Similarly, the number of people using social networking applications is continuously rising in Pakistan. He explained that new social media platforms launch projects to attract users, and due to a lack of awareness, many users unknowingly provide their important information to hackers through these apps. Various virus and hacking links are being shared in different groups, appearing genuine as if they are shared by legitimate farms.

“New users of the apps fall prey to these tactics, unwittingly handing over their information to hackers, who gain access to their profiles and then their accounts,” he said.

According to Nauman Syed, “There have been incidents with many people I know, where accounts were hacked through users’ links.” He said that “Any unnecessary link received from a new number should not be clicked. Many times, Excel files contain codes that can reveal your mobile information to the sender.”

According to FIA officials, “they have received countless complaints where attempts have been made to harm the reputation of citizens by misusing their accounts.” The majority of these cases involve people who have unknowingly provided their confidential information to another person. Additionally, many people have been scammed under the pretense of buying cheap goods.

He said that different applications have developed their own systems. After completing this process, not only can the hacked ID be recovered, but the fake account using the photo can also be reported.

Former Federal Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haq told Urdu News that “Incidents of hacking IDs or creating fake IDs on social networking apps have been reported for some time now, and work is underway to resolve this issue.”

He said that it is true there has been an increase in the number of such cases in recent times. The main reason is that users unthinkingly click on any link, leading to their accounts being hacked. Haque said that the ministry of IT is working on the issue, and the relevant committee of the National Assembly also sends its recommendations to the relevant forums from time to time