BEWARE! Did you get this WhatsApp code verification text message too?

You don’t need to panic if you have received a text message which mentions that you have received a verification code from WhatsApp. The message is genuine, and not harmful. Many have reported receiving a text message from WhatsApp, which states ‘You have received a WhatsApp verification code. Your code is 123-456’. The code is usually sent across by the WhatsApp servers when a new user is registering on WhatsApp. The code is a verification text sent from the servers to the user’s mobile number and the WhatsApp app will automatically detect the code and activate itself. Nevertheless, you should be careful if you are receiving these messages multiple times.

So if you have received a message, it could be that someone with a phone number almost similar to yours is trying to activate his WhatsApp messenger. If he or she accidentally types your number down (it could be an error in the number entry) and you will receive the message. The text message also carries a url ‘http://v.whatsapp.com/123456’ which takes you to the WhatsApp website so that you can download the application to your phone.

If you already have WhatsApp installed and are using it, simply ignore the message. If the message comes in frequently, then there could be someone who knows your number and is playing a prank with you or it could be that someone is trying to gain access to your WhatsApp account. Don’t worry or panic—without the code, he or she cannot activate your WhatsApp account on their phone.

However, you need to be careful if you may have left your phone around for a while and someone could get access to the text message for the code. Always ensure that your smartphone is locked with a security pin or password and make sure that you disable all notifications on your lock screen. If the notifications are visible on your lock screen, the hacker/prankster can peek into the notification bar and gain access to the code, after which he can activate his WhatsApp with your number. Your WhatsApp messenger will automatically get deactivated. You know what happens next if he uses your WhatsApp……

If your WhatsApp got deactivated, you can reactivate it once again after requesting for a new code or reinstalling WhatsApp all over again.