WhatsApp data of 500 million users ‘on sale’: How to check if your data has been leaked – Times of India

Mobile numbers of nearly 500 million WhatsApp users are on sale on the Dark Web. According to Cybernews, an ad posted on a well-known hacking community forum claimed that they are selling the 2022 database of 487 million WhatsApp users’ that includes mobile numbers. The report further claims that its researchers confirmed that the leaked database is of active WhatsApp users. The leaked dataset reportedly has information of WhatsApp users from 84 countries. It is not clear how hackers got hold of the data.
The database comprises phone numbers of WhatsApp users from India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, US, Russia, UK, Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France and Turkey. WhatsApp has over 2 billion users globally
Why WhatsApp users need to be careful
WhatsApp users need to be careful as hackers use such information mostly for smishing and vishing attacks. Smishing and vishing are scams where criminals try to get users to click on a fraudulent link through a phone text message, email or voicemail. So cybersecurity professionals recommend users to remain cautious of any calls from unknown numbers, unsolicited calls and text messages (both SMS and whatsApp). Clicking on or responding to any such voice or text-based messages can be dangerous leading to users losing money or critical personal data.

How to check if your email ID/phone number has been leaked
If you are worried that your data has been hacked then you can check on Cybernews website to find out. The website has a link (https://cybernews.com/personal-data-leak-check/) that allows users to find out if their phone number has been hacked. “Our checker has a 500 GB database of leaked hashed emails,” claims the website. Here are the steps to follow:
* Enter the email address/phone number into the search field on the page
* Click ‘Check Now’
* View the search results on the same page
The search results will tell if your email ID or phone number has been hacked. The results also tell the user about the hacking attack/cyber breach in which their data was leaked. In case you find your email ID has been hacked. Make sure that you change your password. This is the basic safety step to follow.