{"id":452388,"date":"2022-07-13T08:47:53","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T06:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=452388"},"modified":"2022-07-13T16:06:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T14:06:13","slug":"fake-whatsapp-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/452388-fake-whatsapp-warning.html","title":{"rendered":"Fake WhatsApp warning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using fake or modified versions of WhatsApp on Android could lead to your personal information being stolen, warned<\/a><\/strong> the company’s CEO, Will Cathcart.<\/p>\n

Cathcart said that the company’s security research team found hidden malware within apps offering similar services to WhatsApp, available outside the Google Play Store from a developer called HeyMods.<\/p>\n

HeyMods’ offerings include HeyWhatsapp and other modified apps. Users are lured into downloading these apps on the promise of new features, but this is often not the case.<\/p>\n

“These apps promised new features but were just a scam to steal personal information stored on people’s phones,” Cathcart warned.<\/p>\n

“We’ve shared what we found with Google and worked with them to combat the malicious apps.”<\/p>\n

He added that Google Play Protect on Android can now identify and disable previously downloaded fake versions of WhatsApp.<\/p>\n

Cathcart said that WhatsApp is taking enforcement action against HeyMods to prevent further harm.<\/p>\n

“We’re also taking enforcement action against HeyMods to stop future harm, and will further explore legal options to hold HeyMods and others like them accountable,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If you see friends or family using a different form of WhatsApp please encourage them to only use WhatsApp from a trusted app store or our official website directly at https:\/\/WhatsApp.com\/dl<\/a><\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

\n

Now read: Honda security flaw lets attackers unlock and start cars remotely<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WhatsApp security researchers found malware hidden within modified apps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341076,"featured_media":452390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[397,161,79776,79782,9557,73842,2594,70069],"class_list":["post-452388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-android","tag-facebook","tag-fake-apps","tag-google-play-protect","tag-google-play-store","tag-meta-platforms","tag-whatsapp","tag-will-cathcart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452388"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341076"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":452406,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452388\/revisions\/452406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}