Italy - The consumer protection organization Adiconsum is sounding the alarm: a new wave of cybercrime, technically known as „smishing“, is currently flooding Italian users' smartphones. The scam is particularly perfidious, as the messages do not come from strangers, but apparently from trustworthy contacts in the user's own phone book.
The scam with the dance competition
The principle behind the „ballerina scam“ is simple but effective. The user receives a message from a friend or family member. The message contains a photo of a young girl in a dance costume. The text usually reads: „Hello, can you please vote for Federica? She is the daughter of a friend and is taking part in a dance competition. With your vote she can win a scholarship. It costs nothing, just click here.“
If you click on the attached link, you land on a deceptively real-looking platform. There you are asked to enter your phone number and then confirm a code that you receive by text message. This is when the trap snaps shut: the SMS code is actually the verification code for the WhatsApp account. As soon as the criminals receive this code, they take over the victim's profile and log them out of their own device.
Chain reaction and monetary claims
Once the account has been hijacked, the virus spreads like wildfire. The scammers immediately send the ballerina message to all of the victim's contacts. However, the damage often does not end there. After a few days, the criminals use the access to the chat history to ask the victim's relatives for money transfers under the pretext of an emergency.
The postal police urgently advise caution: links in WhatsApp messages should never be clicked on without checking them, even if they come from people you know. Above all, it is important never to enter SMS verification codes on external websites. Experts also recommend activating two-factor authentication in the WhatsApp settings. If the account has already been taken over, all contacts must be warned immediately by other means and the app's official recovery processes must be initiated.
