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How WhatsApp GhostPairing Hijacks Your Account in 2026
CERT-In flagged WhatsApp GhostPairing on 19 December 2025. Scammers hijack accounts via linked-device pairing. How it works and how to defend yourself.
Free to share, no credit needed. The card carries 1930 and the source address, so it still helps someone after it has been forwarded and nobody remembers where it came from.
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The first four steps, in order
- 1
Check linked devices
Settings, Linked devices. Log out everything you do not recognise.
- 2
Turn on two-step verification
Before they can re-register the number.
- 3
Warn contacts by SMS, not WhatsApp
They may already be messaging your friends as you.
- 4
Call 1930 if money moved
Change bank passwords from a clean device.
1930 is the national cyber crime helpline, 24/7. Reporting fast is the single biggest factor in getting money back. Call now
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