So my wife recently received an odd message from my father-in-law on her family WhatsApp thread - something like: Look - and then a link to an Emirates ticket sale...she didn't click on it of course, but then by chance noticed that there was a strange US number added to the private family thread (none of us are in the States), with no name and a profile picture of some guy.
She asked her dad if it was someone he knew or had added (as the admin) by mistake, but he said that US number was coming up under her name in the thread, as a second entry, alongside her actual number - and he'd thought it was just her old American number etc (it definitely isn't).
What's particularly creepy is that it's a thread where they share family photos, including children in the family etc.
So, my father-in-law says that he probably clicked on a similar link to the above sent by another relative, and I'm guessing someone could have infected his iPhone with malware simply by opening the link, right? Would that then allow them to masquerade in his contacts under his daughter's name, and add themselves to the group? I just didn't think that malware like this could penetrate iOS through Whatsapp...is it possible that all of the rest of the details and functions of his phone could be compromised? What's the best solution to this? I suggested he go to an Apple Store immediately. I guess wiping the whole phone is the only solution - and going back to a previous backup - but perhaps there's a way for him to preserve the current one?
Just wanted to warn people about this too, as I've never seen anything quite like it.
The scam seems very similar to this
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, as this is ****ing creepy!
She asked her dad if it was someone he knew or had added (as the admin) by mistake, but he said that US number was coming up under her name in the thread, as a second entry, alongside her actual number - and he'd thought it was just her old American number etc (it definitely isn't).
What's particularly creepy is that it's a thread where they share family photos, including children in the family etc.
So, my father-in-law says that he probably clicked on a similar link to the above sent by another relative, and I'm guessing someone could have infected his iPhone with malware simply by opening the link, right? Would that then allow them to masquerade in his contacts under his daughter's name, and add themselves to the group? I just didn't think that malware like this could penetrate iOS through Whatsapp...is it possible that all of the rest of the details and functions of his phone could be compromised? What's the best solution to this? I suggested he go to an Apple Store immediately. I guess wiping the whole phone is the only solution - and going back to a previous backup - but perhaps there's a way for him to preserve the current one?
Just wanted to warn people about this too, as I've never seen anything quite like it.
The scam seems very similar to this
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, as this is ****ing creepy!