With recent news about friends sending messages asking to borrow money or information being shared without any prior authorization, many people end up wondering “How do I know if my cell phone has been cloned?”
You don't have to worry about it anymore! In this article, you will learn how to check if your cell phone or whatsapp was cloned and how to protect yourself to prevent this from happening!
This is the new crime trend: the famous cloned cell phone scam has already affected 5 thousand people in Brazil alone!
Currently, the most common cloning is WhatsApp. However, you are mistaken if you think that cloning can only be done on the messaging app!
You need to be alert and careful! And to help you, we have prepared a complete article on how to know if my cell phone has been cloned.
So in this article you will find:
- How do I know if my WhatsApp has been cloned?
- Cloned WhatsApp: what to do?
- How does cell phone cloning work?
- How do I know if my cell phone has been cloned?
- Cloned cell phone: what to do?
How do I know if my WhatsApp has been cloned?
You've probably heard or know someone who has had their WhatsApp cloned. But if WhatsApp has an encrypted security system that changes in a short period of time, how can this happen?
In general, cloned WhatsApp numbers come from stolen cell phones, from logging into public computers or from someone who, at some point, had access to your cell phone.
How does WhatsApp cloning work?
The WhatsApp scam has been happening in the following way: with an unauthorized login, the person starts to monitor your activities on the application and, worse, ends up interacting with your contacts.
That's right! The most common way is to send a message to your friends pretending to be you and asking them to borrow money.
It recently happened to a friend. “She” asked for R$400.00 for a colleague and R$1,300 for a teacher!
Therefore, always keep an eye on your account and also on the logins you make on other devices and computers!
To find out if your WhatsApp has been cloned, here are some tips:
Check if there is any strange activity on your account
Be careful! If you notice that you have received some messages that have not been viewed but no notification has appeared, or if some contacts have moved without new messages.
These are some of the signs of a cloned account:
- Messages you didn't send
- Contents that appear as read
Of course, like any other application, WhatsApp can crash or present some errors. However, if this happens frequently, be suspicious!
View your WhatsApp account settings
Attention! This step is only possible if you have your cell phone with you. This is because, through the main application, you can check where your account is logged in.
Therefore, follow these steps:
- Click on the three dots on the cell phone
- Choose Whatsapp Web
- See which devices and sessions are active
If you notice a login that you don't recognize, click “log out of all sessions”.
This way, you will be logged out of all sessions and will only be able to log in again with your mobile device.
Cloned WhatsApp: what to do?
If your WhatsApp has been cloned, we recommend:
- Warn friends and family so they don't fall for the scam
- Log out of all WhatsApp sessions
- Choose two-step verification
Two-step verification is a form of login that requires a PIN to log in on any device.
It's great because if the person, for example, has access to your cell phone and can confirm the SMS code, they won't know the PIN.
To activate two-step verification, simply access the WhatsApp settings, select “two-step verification” and activate.
Then, register your PIN and make your account more secure! How do I know if my cell phone has been cloned?
How does cell phone cloning work?
As we said before, there is another way to clone your cell phone. Through IMEI.
In this case, the cell phone is reprogrammed and “shares” its line with another device. This way, the cloned device can make calls, send messages and perform other commands.
And who pays the bill? You!
How do I know if my cell phone has been cloned?
One of the main ways to know if your cell phone has been cloned is through the device itself.
Be suspicious in the following cases:
- Difficulty completing calls
- Calls dropping constantly
- Difficulty accessing the inbox
- Calls from national and international numbers
- Phone bill higher than normal
Cloned cell phone: what to do?
If you realize that your cell phone has actually been cloned, call your operator and ask for the line to be canceled.
You can also go to an operator store, but if you prefer to request cancellation by phone, don't forget to write down all the important information:
- Full name of attendant
- Date
- Time
- Protocol or bulletin number
If you go in person, ask for a copy of the complaint, report and request, ok?
Some precautions
- Avoid clicking on those unknown links that are shared on Facebook or Whatsapp
- Do not install applications outside the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS)
- Pay attention to the applications installed and whether they have authorization to make calls, send SMS, among others.
- Always update your cell phone password, as someone with access to it may have installed a monitoring app. You never know, right?
