“They hacked my Whatsapp account,” says EFF leader

Sekhukhune

 

Whatsapp account of former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) regional chairperson in Sekhukhune, Moleke Senong, who now serves as a councilor in the district has been hacked.

 

The unknown hacker texted all people on the contact list of Senong asking them money and promising to return it back the following day.

 

The EFF leader didn’t know that his phone had been compromised.

 

Until he receives numerous calls mostly from his colleagues telling him that they suspect that his phone was bugged.

 

He said there were also missed calls from other numbers he did not recognise and he began to get worried.

 

Amongst the people who the hacker asked for money was a Sekhukhune Times journalist.

 

“I am sorry to bother you I need R950 I will send it back to you tomorrow. Please send it to this number,” message read.

 

After receiving the massage, attempts to make calls to the number sent them straight to voicemail.

 

Without hesitation the reporter called the party’s regional office and they confirmed his phone was bugged.

 

The app is used by approximately 2 billion people in 180 countries.

 

The service is popular for its end-to-end encryption, which means messages are scrambled as they travel across the internet, making them unreadable if intercepted.

 

Speaking to Sekhukhune Times, Senong also confirmed his app was bugged.

 

“I had a bad day yesterday. I was completely unaware that they had bugged my whatsapp until my colleagues told me.

 

“I visited my service provider, honestly even before they confirmed this, we were gutted and terrified,” Senong explained.

 

He said no one from his contacts made the transaction to the hacker.

 

“I urge people to be vigilant because these people want to scam them in my name,” he concluded.