Have you gotten a verification code via text message from eToro? Does it say ”eToro verification code: XXXXX. Do not share this code with anyone”? You’re not alone! Reports on Reddit show this is a current spam being sent to both those who have an eToro account and those who don’t.
Here’s an explainer of the scam behind this text messages and what you should do to avoid being a victim.
How The Scam works
The text message which surprisingly doesn’t contain a link is sent by scammers who might have gotten your phone number in a recent data breach.
The goal of this text message is to ignite fear in recipients and make them dial the sender’s number.
Once you do so, the scammers would have an inkling that you’ve an eToro account and would proceed to use brute force to guess your eToro password using the data collected from the data breach.
If they succeed, they’d pose as an eToro official and call you, requesting for the legit verification code sent to you for two factor authentication. The scammers would claim they’re trying to secure your account as someone is attempting to hack it.
People who fall for this scam end up loosing their stock portfolio and access to their account.
What To Do About this etoro verification code scam text
- Do not attempt to call the telephone number or contact the person at the other end.
- Report the spam text messages to eToro if you’ve an account with them
- Block The Sender’s Number or Email
- Block the telephone number that sent the scam text message. You can do this by adding the number to your phone’s spam list.
- Delete the text message. This will prevent you from mistakenly replying to it.
The Bottom Line
The series of verification codes allegedly from eToro is not from the giant manual investing firm. eToro which provides a wide selection of stocks, currencies, commodities, cryptoassets, ETFs and indices is being targeted by scammers. This scam uses threat tactics to trick people into calling the number. Don’t fall for it!
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