Overview
- Gohar Khan, who said Tuesday his WhatsApp number was hacked around 11 am, reported the app was deleted from his phone and warned contacts to ignore any money demands sent in his name.
- He said he has notified the relevant authorities to seek an investigation and to stop further misuse of his identity.
- Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team earlier warned of a sharp rise in WhatsApp hijackings that use tricks like stealing verification codes, abusing call forwarding, phishing links, and malicious QR codes.
- Lawmakers raised the trend in the National Assembly, and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said his voice was impersonated to solicit funds, signaling concern that public figures are being targeted for fraud.
- Authorities advise turning on two-step verification with a recovery email, never sharing verification codes or PINs, checking linked devices and call-forwarding settings, avoiding suspicious links or QR codes, and confirming unusual requests through another channel.