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JAM | Nov 28, 2022

Jamaica listed among countries whose citizens’ WhatsApp data is allegedly up for sale

Tamoy Ashman

Tamoy Ashman / Our Today

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Jamaica is among a list of 84 countries whose citizens’ WhatsApp data has reportedly been breached and are up for sale.

Reports from Cyber News are that almost 500 million users of the communications app are at risk of having their personal data sold, after news about the data breach was posted on a “well known hacking community forum.”

Jamaica made the list with more than 385,000 citizens information currently up for sale.

The hacking community claims that they are selling up-to- date 2022 database, of 487 million mobile numbers used on WhatsApp.

Puerto Rico is the only other Caribbean country listed, with most countries on the list located in the Eastern Hemisphere.

List of countries whose citizens WhatsApp data are reportedly up for sale. (Photo: Twitter @Cyber News)

Other countries listed are the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Egypt, who top the list with the most users information breached.

The database includes users phone numbers, which can allegedly be purchased and used to impersonate others, participating in phishing and other fraudulent activities.

The US database of WhatsApp users can also reportedly be purchased for US$7,000, while the UK and Germany databases are available for purchase at US$2,500 and US$2,000, respectively.

A WhatsApp spokesperson has reportedly refuted the claims that there was a breach. Instead, they said a list of random numbers are being circulated, not users’ personal information.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging services, with 100 countries and two billion people using the social media platform.

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