Instant messaging and voice-over-IP service WhatsApp allegedly had a data leak that compromises the data of almost 500 million users.
Mashable India, a digital media platform, has reported that according to a recent allegation by CyberNews, someone hacked WhatsApp and obtained the personal information of nearly 500 million users, which is now up for sale.
An actor allegedly advertised on a hacker site to sell the personal information of over 487 WhatsApp users including their cell numbers.
The listing said the user data comprises 32 million US users and came from 84 other countries, including Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, and Turkey.
Stolen phone numbers can be used for impersonation, phishing, and other fraudulent operations. Meta, the parent company of Whatsapp, has not yet responded to this update, the report said.
According to Mashable India, the WhatsApp user database from the US is being sold for USD 7,000, while the rates of user data from the UK and Germany are USD 2,500 and USD 2,000 respectively. Reportedly no user profiles from India are on the list.
