The Rakuten Viber messenger team has reported a new fraudulent scheme: attackers pretend to be another well-known service to gain access to a user's account.
According to the company, in 2023-2024, Rakuten Viber blocked about 40 thousand fraudsters and spammers in the app. The number of attackers is decreasing due to constant monitoring by the team and user complaints. Earlier, the company reported that it managed to reduce the number of fraudulent calls by 80% in 2024. At the same time, fraudsters are finding new methods to take over profiles. Rakuten Viber warns of a fraudulent scheme that has been spreading in recent months.
According to this scheme, the attackers send messages or make phone calls posing as another well-known service or company. It may be a message or call allegedly from a bank, mobile operator, online classifieds service, etc. The message or phone call from the fraudsters is followed by a message: "enter the code from the SMS", allegedly to confirm your registration with the service, verify your account, switch to a new mobile operator's tariff plan, etc. At this point, the fraudsters attempt to activate the Viber account on another device, and this is what the code is for. If the user passes the code to another person, the fraudster can gain access to the Viber account.
In the fall of 2024, activation messages were often disguised as messages from the OLX service. Users who had recently posted an ad on the platform were sent an offer to send a photo of the product to Viber or simply continue communication in the messenger in their personal messages. After that, the user would receive a request for a code allegedly from OLX in the messenger or via SMS.
Rakuten Viber reminds you that account activation codes and passwords should never be disclosed to unauthorized persons.
What to do in case of suspicious messages:
- If you receive a message from a user who is not in your contact list and you think it's a scammer, click Block and report spam;
- Please contact the support team via the link.
- If necessary, set restrictions on messages and calls from unknown contacts in Settings => Privacy => Requests.
You can also turn on Automatic spam checking: Settings => Privacy => Automatic spam check.
If you want to know if a spammer is calling from an unknown number or if the call is safe, the team recommends using the Caller ID feature (for Android users, go to Settings => Calls and messages => Caller ID). If the contact is a potential fraudster, it will be indicated during the call.
Rakuten Viber reminds you to never share your personal data, including codes and passwords, with unauthorized persons. This will help protect your data and accounts from intruders.