WhatsApp data of 500 million users at risk! India at risk! See what all is affected

WhatsApp data of almost 500 million users across various countries are at risk. Know all about it here.

A seller is putting up the database of almost 500 million WhatsApp users up for sale. (PTI)

WhatsApp is not alien to anyone having a big smartphone in their pockets. The free to use messenger app has been everyone's favourite and is even adapted globally by businesses around the world. Hence, it is up to WhatsApp to keep the data of so many millions of users safe and out of danger. While the chats are always encrypted, the data on them is far from secure. A new report now suggests that the database containing WhatsApp numbers of 500 millions users was recently put on sale in a hacking community forum.

The report from cybernews says that a seller is putting up the database of almost 500 million WhatsApp users up for sale. The database is said to contain 487 million phone numbers that are actively using WhatsApp across the world. India is also included in this list. The data was not obtained with a hack into WhatsApp servers, or via any cyber attack directed at WhatsApp.

WhatsApp users from many countries at risk

The seller who posted the details writes that the phone numbers include awesome 32 million users from the US, 11 million users from the UK, 10 million users from Russia, 35 million users from Italy, 29 million users from Saudi Arabia and more. The list also contains data of 6 million users from India who are registered to WhatsApp.

The data was gathered by the hacker via the method of scraping. This means that all these WhatsApp numbers were stolen from various other websites who store phone numbers of users. The seller has confirmed that all the numbers listed here are related to active WhatsApp accounts.

What happens to these users?

All the phone numbers listed here could fall prey to spamming, phishing attempts, identity theft and other cybercriminal activities. Honestly, there is not much you can do to protect yourself from this data leak but there are a few things you can do to keep yourself safe.

The first is to not respond easily to messages from unknown numbers. If you get a text on WhatsApp from an unknown number asking for details or information, avoid it at all cost. Delete or block it to be safe.

Additionally, you can head over to the privacy settings of WhatsApp and hide your profile picture as well as your bio details from people who aren't a part of your contact list.