A new cyber scam has been spreading rapidly on WhatsApp in Albania, prompting serious concerns from cybersecurity experts. The deceptive message, which urges recipients to vote for a girl to help her win a school scholarship, has made the rounds among close contacts, creating a false sense of trust and urgency.
According to Sara Qoshi, head of the Cybersecurity Incidents Protection, Management, and Response Sector, the link embedded in the message leads victims to a page designed to mimic a legitimate voting platform. Once there, users are asked to enter their phone number and authorize access to their WhatsApp account using an 8-character verification code.
"If the user authorizes access, malicious actors gain full control over the victim’s WhatsApp account," Qoshi explains. "They then use the compromised account to spread the scam further and potentially collect sensitive information stored on the application."
The National Authority for Cybersecurity quickly issued a public warning, urging citizens to stay vigilant. "Our team has conducted a technical analysis of the scam and published the details on our official website, aksk.gov.al," Qoshi stated.
Experts are increasingly alarmed by the evolution of cybercriminal tactics, which now often incorporate artificial intelligence to make scams more convincing.