TRA warns against fake updates of popular social media apps
dubai — UAE residents have just received another warning regarding the popular messaging service WhatsApp from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
The authority has cautioned residents who download unsafe applications that are advertised to have ‘special features’.
Posted on their social media handle, the TRA warned: “Beware of ‘WhatsUp Gold’ and other third-party applications that claim to include special features. “Such applications are unsafe and threaten your privacy.”
Malware apps like WhatsApp Gold can be either specifically designed to launch a cyber-attack or allow for collusion and privilege escalation with other apps, leaking sensitive information to third parties.
Recently, a fake Update of WhatsApp android app was trending with over a million downloads on the Google Play Store, according to the security site, Norton.
Targeted crime
A heavy reliance on social media applications like WhatsApp and Facebook to communicate on a daily basis for personal or professional reasons has made them a breeding ground for scammers and con artists looking to make a quick buck.
According to a survey conducted last year by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, more than 96 per cent of citizens and residents use WhatsApp. Another survey carried out by the Ministry of Education shows that the majority of parents, 53 per cent, use WhatsApp to communicate with their children’s teachers.
This is not the first warning for UAE residents regarding WhatsApp, which has been the target of a slew of recent scams. Most recently, a group of hackers posing as members of WhatsApp’s support team have tried to dupe unsuspect- ing users into giving them access to their accounts to hijack sessions.
Another scam had also contacted users with messages requesting WhatsApp account verification codes from contacts in the users’ phone with compromised accounts. Criminals would pretend to be employees of telecom companies or department store chains and send messages to residents, informing them they had won ‘grand prizes’.
To ‘claim the prize’, residents were asked to send activation codes of WhatsApp account verification. Once this was submitted, the cybercriminals would get access to the resident’s contact list and send the fake appeal for cash.