data leak
6 million German Whatsapp numbers are traded on the Internet – that could threaten you now
It could be that unsolicited messages will increase in the future.
© Whatsapp/fizkes / Getty Images
An unknown person sold around half a billion Whatsapp contacts on the Internet. Including six million German phone numbers.
Since mid-November, an unknown person has been trying to sell a database with 487 million active Whatsapp accounts via a hacker forum. According to the seller, the overall package includes contacts from 84 countries, most of which are said to come from the USA, Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France and Turkey. But this package also includes six million German phone numbers that have been shown to have been active on Whatsapp in the past few months.
Whatsapp numbers are real
With the specialist editors of “cyber news” the hacker shared a small set of data. The blog confirms: all the numbers that the seller sent for trial purposes are actually reachable via Whatsapp.
He didn’t want to reveal how the hacker got the phone numbers and, according to “Cybernews”, only spoke of “own methods”. “Cybernews” speculates that an automated search for possible contacts, also known as “scraping”, could be behind it. “Scraping” involves collecting publicly available data on a large scale. Whatsapp’s terms and conditions expressly prohibit this.
Of the star asked Meta, the Whatsapp parent company, for an opinion. So far, the editors have not received any feedback.
More storage, more security
15 helpful tips for Whatsapp that will make your messenger safer and better
Unfortunately, there is currently no way to check whether your own phone number is part of the database. You should absolutely avoid handing over your data to dubious sources for the purpose of such a comparison. Only when reliable and veteran websites like “Haveibeenpwned” have integrated the database, a short check is easily possible.
Check unsolicited Whatsapp messages carefully
If your phone number is in the database – and it ends up in the wrong hands – luckily you “only” face unsolicited contact.
So, as always, if you are contacted by an unknown number, be skeptical, regardless of the content of the message. Question them, don’t click any links, and if the other party says they’re someone you know, call them to be sure. With these simple rules, most scams can be efficiently prevented.
If a phone number strikes you as odd and keeps bothering you, you can quickly and easily block the contact. As far as the transfer of your data, for example your profile picture, is concerned, you can find out in this gallery how you can best protect yourself from unauthorized access.