In another turn of events, a hacker has reportedly stolen the messages, call logs, and locations intercepted by the popular phone surveillance programme LetMeSpy. On June 21, “a security incident occurred involving obtaining unauthorised access to the data of website users,” according to the phone tracking software, which is used to spy on thousands of Android phone users worldwide. The notice stated that, as a result of the incident, the hackers had access to user accounts’ email addresses, phone numbers, and message content.
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LetMeSpy is a phone surveillance app that is promoted for employee or parental control. Additionally, the software is made to remain undetectable on a phone’s home screen, making it challenging to find and uninstall. These phone surveillance apps, often known as stalkerware or spouseware, are frequently installed without the owner’s knowledge or agreement by others who have physical access to their phone.
As soon as the programme is installed, LetMeSpy secretly sends the phone’s text messages, call logs, and precise location information to its servers, enabling the person who installed the app to follow the target in real time. These surveillance applications are found to be quite buggy and known for basic security flaws because of their high level of access to a person’s phone. Over the years, several spyware apps have been hacked or have leaked and exposed private phone data that had been obtained from unaware users.
According to reports, Niebezpiecznik, a Polish security analysis site, was the first to report the incident. The hacker apparently reacted instead when Niebezpiecznik contacted the spyware maker for comment, claiming to have gained full access to the spyware maker’s domain. Who is responsible for the LetMeSpy hack, and their intentions are unclear. Reportedly, the hacker hinted that they had removed the databases for LetMeSpy that were kept on the server. Later that day, a copy of the compromised database also surfaced online.
While this data breach affected people across the world, in India recently, a new scam floated known as WhatsApp Pink. Under this scam, fraudsters and hackers spread bogus messages through WhatsApp in order to target users. According to reports, the message contains a link asking users to download WhatsApp Pink, a false version of the messaging service. Reports further suggest that scammers are targeting multiple users with the assurance that the latter will receive a new version that is going to provide an improved interface and new features.
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A tweet from the North Region cybercrime wing issued a warning titled, “WHATSAPP PINK – A Red Alert For Android Users.” The government’s cybersecurity organisations have also released a warning about the rising number of Pink WhatsApp scam instances. A public alert regarding this WhatsApp message known as “Pink WhatsApp” was released by the Mumbai Police. In their alert, law enforcement officers warned the public about a new fraud that was growing on the site. It has been highlighted how important it is to avoid clicking the link or downloading the associated programme.
