Is This A New Scam?

[calmck]

Got a message on WhatsApp supposedly from someone I know saying they had requested an SMS CODE but it had been sent to me by mistake and would I send it to them. The phone number is a US area code. I have reported it

[roopower]

Thats a new one to me.

[davebro]

what's an SMS code?

[calmck]

SMS is text message

[davebro]

so what's an sms CODE?

[ubasses]

Yes, got an alert on our neighbourhood site about it yesterday.

[bhg481]

Someone trying to log in to your bank account. The bank will send a code to the telephone number they have for you; you forward the code to the spammer and they can authorise themselves to use your bank account.

[Bazile]

^^^
Why would your bank send you an SMS code if you haven't requested one?

[bhg481]

Bazile - I try to log in to your bank account to do naughty things. The bank will send an SMS to YOUR phone number for you to authorise the login. You forward the SMS to me and I can authorise myself to log in to your bank account.

[calmck]

Code sent by SMS to input to verify your WhatsApp

[Bazile]

Ah right

[Hymie]

Not that mobile banking works on my Nokia 3310 – but what I want to know is how did they trick your bank into sending the code to your phone?

Having managed to find out how to do this, they only need find gullible fools to forward the code (as requested) to empty their bank accounts.

[calmck]

This was a scam. The scammers wanted to tie up WatsApp. When you sent the code vial text message they took over the phone and sent messages to all contacts in a group. As I was in my nephews group I received 350 gibberish messages last night!. WhatsApp was very quick to sort my nephew out