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WhatsApp scams: the code, the new number and the job

From Scams, in the HARD wiki · Updated

A WhatsApp message asking for your six-digit code, a relative on a “new number” who needs money urgently, or a recruiter offering pay for simple online tasks is a scam.

Three tricks come up again and again on WhatsApp. The code: someone, often a hacked friend, asks you to forward a code “sent by mistake”, which is your own WhatsApp registration code. The new number: “Hi Mum, I broke my phone”, then a bill that must be paid today. The job: rating products or hotels for commission, until you must pay in to unlock your earnings.

What it looks like

An example written by HARD, not a real message. Real ones change wording often.

WhatsApp message from an unknown number

Hi Mum, it’s me, I dropped my phone in the bath 🙈 this is my new number. Can you do me a favour? I need to pay a bill today and my banking app won’t work on the new phone.

Check the one you got

Paste what you were sent. HARD checks it in this browser with the same rules as the Is this legit? check in its apps. Nothing you paste leaves this page.

How to tell it’s fake

“Never share your 6-digit registration code or password with anyone.”

WhatsApp Help Center
Anyone asks for your code.
WhatsApp says never to share your registration code, not even with friends or family. A code you didn’t ask for means someone is trying to register your number.
Family on a new number, needing money.
Call the number you already have for them, or ask a question only they’d know. WhatsApp suggests a voice or video call.
Paid tasks from a stranger.
Liking videos, rating hotels, “optimising” products. The FTC and FBI say these end with crypto deposits to release your pay.
Secrecy and hurry.
Don’t tell Dad, it has to be today. The rush stops you checking.

If you clicked, called or paid

If you shared your code, re-register now.
Open WhatsApp and sign in again with your number and the new code by text. WhatsApp says this logs the other person out. Try this before reporting the account.
Turn on two-step verification.
Settings, then Account, then Two-step verification. Set a PIN or password and add an email.
Warn your contacts.
If your account was taken, the scammer may message them as you.
If you paid, call your bank.
On the number on your card, and say it was a scam.
Report and block.
In the chat, report the message and block the sender. In the US, report job scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. Outside the US: Report Fraud in the UK (reportfraud.police.uk, which replaced Action Fraud), Scamwatch in Australia, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in Canada. Forward scam texts to 7726 in the US, UK and Canada.

If it was your parents, read Look after your parents, and if a card number or password has gone, Breaches explains what each kind of leaked data lets criminals do.

The official way to check

Call them on the number you already have.
The easiest way to check a “new number” message.
Check your two-step verification is on.
In WhatsApp’s Settings, then Account.

Someone on the phone asking for money right now? Guides has the two-step answer. More scams by name are on Is this a scam?, and new ones reach the Situation Room.

Questions

Someone asked for my WhatsApp code. What should I do?

Don’t send it. If you already did, open WhatsApp and register your number again with a fresh code by text, which logs them out, then turn on two-step verification.

How do I check a “Hi Mum” message?

Call your child on the number you already have, or ask something only they would know. Don’t send money until you’ve spoken to them.

Are WhatsApp job offers real?

A stranger offering pay for liking videos or rating products is a task scam. Real employers don’t recruit that way; block and report.

Sources

Sources checked on 7 Nov 2026.

  1. WhatsApp Help Center: About registration and two-step verification, read 7 November 2026: never share your six-digit code or password.
  2. WhatsApp Help Center: How to recover a compromised account, read 7 November 2026: re-register to log the intruder out; recover before reporting.
  3. WhatsApp Help Center: About suspicious messages and scams, read 7 November 2026: friend and family impersonation, job scams, verify by call, report and block.
  4. ACCC: Warning of suspicious messages as “Hi Mum” scams spike, 23 August 2022: the new-number story, most often on WhatsApp.
  5. FTC: How to spot and avoid task scams, 14 August 2025: unexpected WhatsApp and text job offers, product boosting, crypto deposits.