‘Vote for my child’ on WhatsApp is how accounts get stolen. Never enter your SMS code on any website
Portugal's National Republican Guard (GNR) warned on 27 October about a WhatsApp scam (IOL). The message comes from someone you know — a friend, a colleague, a relative — asking you to vote for their child in a competition and giving a link. But it is not really them: their account has already been stolen, and the message is being sent to all their contacts (Notícias ao Minuto).
The link leads to a fake ‘voting’ page, which asks you to enter your phone number and then a six-digit code from an SMS, or to scan a QR code. This is actually the login to your WhatsApp: at that moment the scammer connects your account to their own phone and starts messaging your contacts in your name — with the same ‘vote’ request or with an urgent plea to transfer a small sum of money, supposedly for medical treatment or because of trouble on a trip (DECO Proteste).
Never enter your WhatsApp SMS code on any website or forward it to anyone — it is used to take over your account.
The GNR advises phoning the person before voting to ask whether they really sent the message, and not opening links or scanning QR codes if you do not know where they come from. The consumer organisation DECO Proteste advises turning on two-step verification in WhatsApp in advance (Settings → Account → Two-step verification): your account then cannot be opened on another phone without your PIN.
If your account has already been stolen, check the linked devices in WhatsApp's settings and log out of any that are not yours, reinstall the app and log in again with your own number, and warn your contacts by phone or through another messaging app. If you have already transferred money, call your bank immediately and report it to the police (DECO Proteste).
