WhatsApp hacked in Zimbabwe? How to get it back and stop it happening again

How the hack works

• The scammer types your phone number into WhatsApp on their own phone
• WhatsApp sends a six-digit verification code to you by SMS
• A message from a contact whose account was already stolen asks you to send that code, often saying it is for a group, a competition or a burial society
• When you send it, they log into your account and often add their own two-step PIN so you cannot easily get back in
• Some scammers request the code by voice call when you are asleep, then retrieve it from your voicemail if the voicemail still uses a default PIN

What happens next: the EcoCash emergency messages

The scammer reads your recent chats and writes to the people who trust you most: "Please send $50 to this number, I am stuck, I will pay back tonight." Because the message comes from your real account, people believe it.

For businesses it is worse. Customers may be told to pay a deposit to a new number, and the money is gone before anyone notices.

Recover your account right now

• Open WhatsApp on your phone, enter your number and request a new SMS code
• Entering the code logs the scammer out of your account on their phone
• If WhatsApp asks for a two-step PIN you never set, the scammer added it. They are still logged out and cannot read or send messages
• Wait out the reset period WhatsApp shows on screen, then log back in without the PIN
• If you cannot get a code, email support@whatsapp.com with the subject "Lost/Stolen: Please deactivate my account" and your number in full international form, for example +263 77 123 4567

Warn your contacts and customers

• Post on your Facebook page and Status from another phone: "My WhatsApp was hacked. Do not send money to anyone asking in my name."
• Call or SMS close family, and anyone who regularly sends you money
• Business owners: tell customers the only official payment details, and where they can always check them
• If money was sent, report it to your mobile money provider and the police as soon as possible with the receiving number

Four settings to turn on today

• Two-step verification: Settings, Account, Two-step verification. Choose a six-digit PIN and add your email
• Change your voicemail PIN from the default, or ask your network to switch voicemail off
• Check Linked devices in Settings and log out any computer or phone you do not recognise
• Turn on security notifications so you are told when something changes on your account

The one rule that stops almost every hack

Never send a verification code to anyone, even someone you know. No group admin, competition or WhatsApp staff member ever needs it. If a friend asks for one, call them on a normal phone call first. Their account has probably been stolen.

Why your business should not live only on WhatsApp

If your whole business is one WhatsApp number, a hack or a ban stops your sales overnight, and scammers can pretend to be you while you are locked out.

A website on your own domain gives customers a place to check your real prices, products and payment details at any time. With MatSiteBuilder, your store still sends orders to your WhatsApp, but customers always have an official page to confirm it is really you.