Messaging App Login Code Theft Scam

A web page offers something you want, such as a place in a program, a job opportunity or a payout, and says you only need to register. To register, it asks for the phone number linked to your messaging app, then for the login code the app sends you, and then for your two-step verification password. Those are the same details someone needs to sign in to your account on a new device. The page is not run by the messaging app, and anything you type goes to the people behind the page.

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Messaging App Login Code Theft Scam example

How this scam works

  1. 1

    Step 1: You open a link to a registration page. It promises a benefit, says places are limited, and often shows a list of other people who have supposedly signed up.

  2. 2

    Step 2: The page asks for your name and the phone number you use for a messaging app such as Telegram.

  3. 3

    Step 3: The page says a code will be sent to you by the app or by an official bot, and asks you to type that code into the page.

  4. 4

    Step 4: If your account has a two-step verification password, the page asks for that too, often saying it is required to finish registering.

  5. 5

    Step 5: The page may then ask for more personal details, such as your address or bank, and tells you to wait while your registration is checked. With your code and password, the people behind the page can sign in to your account.

✓ Do this

  • Treat any page that asks for a code sent by your messaging app as a sign-in attempt on your account, whatever the page says the code is for.
  • Check any program, job or payout on the official website of the organization behind it, by typing the address yourself.
  • If you already typed a code or password into such a page, open the app, end all sessions you do not recognize, and change your two-step verification password.
  • Report the page and the link you received to the messaging app.

✗ Avoid this

  • Do not type a login code from your messaging app into any website or share it with anyone.
  • Do not enter your two-step verification password anywhere except inside the app itself.
  • Do not trust a page because it shows a list of people whose registration was accepted. Anyone can write that list.

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