(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- There has been a significant increase in WhatsApp hacking cases in Oman, the Information Technology Authority (ITA) said on Twitter.

ITA stated that Oman National CERT (OCERT) has noticed an increase in the number of hacking cases involving the popular messaging application. The fraudsters hack by accessing the Security Verification Code of victims. The hackers use the victim's identity and reach out to people on the contact list asking for money transfer.

OCERT strongly recommends WhatsApp users to follow some steps to prevent such incidents, 'Never disclose or send your WhatsApp verification code or verification message to anyone. Never click on links received through SMS that contain a WhatsApp verification code. Enable a two-step verification from WhatsApp settings and never respond to WhatsApp messages requesting money transfer even if the number is from your contact list. If your WhatsApp has been hacked into, notify your contact list about it.'

The solution to this is to just uninstall and reinstall the application. 'Just reinstall the WhatsApp application on the phone by registering your number again and wait for the verification code. If you are requested to insert a two-step verification number click on Forgot Pin option. A message will appear on the screen stating that WhatsApp will be suspended for seven days. If no message appears, click contact support on the same page and write, 'My WhatsApp account has been hacked. Please suspend my account number 9xxxxxxx'.'

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