Security News > 2023 > February > Accidental WhatsApp account takeovers? It's a thing

A stranger may be receiving your private WhatsApp messages, and also be able to send messages to all of your contacts - if you have changed your phone number and didn't delete the WhatsApp account linked to it.

"If for some reason you no longer want to use WhatsApp tied to a particular phone number, then the best thing to do is transfer it to a new phone number or delete the account within the app."

Ugo was a long-time WhatsApp user in Switzerland with his account tied to his Swiss phone number.

"Facebook doesn't have control over telecom providers who reissue phone numbers or with users having a phone number linked to their Facebook account that is no longer registered to them," the email said.

"At the very least when they see that someone is requesting a phone number change and they see that there is an active account on phone number B that does not seem to have anything to do with the also active account attached to phone number A, challenge the account on phone number B to prove that they still own phone number B or update their number," he said.

For its part, WhatsApp provides a help page about how to transfer phones, and recommends if someone wants to stop using WhatsApp altogether, they should delete their accounts.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/02/21/accidental_whatsapp_account_takeover/