"Vote for my granddaughter!" — the message from a real friend's account
A message arrives from a real contact — because their account has already been hijacked: *"Please vote for my granddaughter in the dance contest!"* The link opens a professional-looking voting page that asks for your phone number and then a code "to confirm your vote."
That code is actually WhatsApp's own verification or device-pairing code. Type it in, and the criminals take over *your* WhatsApp too. Then your contacts get the same vote requests — or "I'm in trouble, lend me money" — in your name. Police warned about this wave through 2025.
What to do: never give a texted code to anyone or type it into a website — codes are keys, not receipts. Verify odd requests by calling the contact on their known number, and turn on WhatsApp's two-step verification (Settings → Account → Two-step verification) today, so a stolen SMS code alone isn't enough.
Threat examples
Tap the outlined parts of the message to see the red flags
Hello dear! Little Emma is in the final of her dance contest 🩰 Please vote for her here: [voting link] — you'll get a code by SMS, just enter it on the page to make the vote count. Thank you!!