WHATSAPP users have been warned against a dangerous new malware campaign, which hopes to trick messenger users into installing an executable file.
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| Criminals hope to trick WhatsApp users into opening the email – and downloading the attached virus |
Cybercriminals circulating malware have set their sights on WhatsApp users, researchers have discovered.
The malware is being distributed in emails, which look as if they have been sent from an official WhatsApp account, researchers at Comodo Labs have revealed.
Criminals hope to trick WhatsApp users into opening the email – and downloading the attached virus.
Messages from the criminals contain suggestive subject lines including, "you have obtained a voice notification", "an audio memo was missed", "a brief audio recording has been delivered" and "a short vocal recording was obtained".
Some WhatsApp users are being sent other notifications too, including a fake notification about a new video note, Comodo has confirmed.
None of these emails originate from a WhatsApp email address – but are "disguised with an umbrella branding", the security firm added.
Each of these malicious messages contains a compressed ZIP file, which will unleash the hidden malware inside.
The malware usually replicates itself into different system folders, adding itself into an auto-run in the computer’s registry.
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| An example of the one of the false WhatsApp emails |
"Cybercriminals are becoming more and more like marketers – trying to use creative subject lines to have unsuspecting emails be clicked and opened to spread malware," said Fatih Orhan, Director of Technology for Comodo and the Comodo Antispam Labs.
"As a company, Comodo is working diligently in creating innovative technology solutions that stay a step ahead of the cybercriminals, protect and secure endpoints, and keep enterprises and IT environments safe."
WhatsApp is currently the most popular cross-platform messaging app with more than 900 million users worldwide.
The Facebook-owned service crashed on New Years Eve, leaving millions of well-wishers unable to message friends and family at the start of the new year.
The subscription-based messenger allows users to send text, video and audio messages around the world over an internet connection.
The messenger, which is now offered on a yearly subscription plan of 69p, also offers Voice over IP calling, group chats and more.
WhatsApp bought by Facebook for an eye-watering $19billion last year.
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| Facebook is in control of the 2 most popular mobile messaging apps, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger |
Facebook also owns the second most successful mobile messaging app – its own Facebook Messenger.
The standalone cross-platform chat app currently has some 700million monthly users.
Facebook recently announced that for the first time ever – one billion people accessed Facebook on the same day.
That works out at a staggering one in every seven people on Earth logging in and using the US social service.
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