User data of 3.2 million Belgian WhatsApp users for sale on the dark web

Phone numbers and user IDs of 3.2 million Belgian WhatsApp users have been stolen and are being sold on the dark web.

Safeonweb, an organization that advises Belgian citizens on cyber security and digital threats, has put out a warning, calling it a major data breach that could potentially affect millions of Belgian WhatsApp users. Not only WhatsApp numbers, but also user IDs and personal information were collected, including profile pictures and other info users might have added to their account.

The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium confirms the dataset is for sale on the dark web.

According to security experts, the breach poses various cybersecurity risks to Belgian WhatsApp users. Cybercriminals could send them fake messages, pretending to be someone else in order to scam them. This is called smishing or SMS phishing.

Another potential risk is vishing of voice phishing. In this scenario a scammer calls his victims and pretends to be a financial institution, government organization, telemarketing company, tech support, or other service provider. The goal is to extract additional personal information or money.

“These tactics often involve pretending to be legitimate entities in order to gain the trust of unsuspecting people and manipulate them,” Safeonweb states.

The Belgian security research group Inti De Ceukelaire tells Belgian newspaper De Morgen that personal information on millions of Belgian WhatsApp users was obtained through scraping. “It’s such a large amount [of data], I think this is almost all Belgians who have a WhatsApp account. So the question isn’t ‘are you involved?’, but rather ‘to what extent are you involved?’,” the news outlet quotes a security expert.

Safeonweb recommends users to be skeptical when they receive calls or messages from unknown sources, especially when they ask for personal information of money. Also, avoid sharing sensitive or personal information via WhatsApp, text message of phone call.

Furthermore, to equip your WhatsApp account with an additional layer of protection, you should enable two-factor authentication. Lastly, check your privacy settings to limit what personal details you are willing to share with others, like who can see your profile picture.