A sophisticated “Gift Link” scam is trending today across WhatsApp, targeting users with “Christmas bonuses” and “Holiday vouchers.” Clicking the link initiates a session-hijacking script or prompts for a mobile number, which is then used for SIM-swap fraud or to enroll the user in premium rate SMS services.
Business Impact
This targets employees during their time off, but often leads to credential theft for corporate accounts if they use the same mobile device for MFA. For businesses, this increases the risk of account takeovers (ATO) during a period of reduced staffing and slower incident response.
Why It Happened
Scammers exploit the “holiday spirit” and the high volume of legitimate gift-related messaging. The links use masked URLs that bypass standard mobile browser filters by utilizing legitimate URL-shortening services.
Recommended Executive Action
Send a final “Holiday Safety” push notification to staff. Advise them to never click on “gift” links from unknown numbers and to enable a SIM PIN to prevent unauthorized porting. If possible, mandate hardware-based MFA (FIDO2) for high-value administrative accounts.
Hashtags: #WhatsAppScam #SocialEngineering #SIMSwap #IdentityTheft #HolidaySecurity #Phishing #InfoSec