Update Your Snapchat Password Immediately
Snapchat users have been bombarded with repeated surprise text messages this week with two-factor authentication (2FA), but it’s unclear if the reason is due to a glitch on the Snapchat side or to attempts by hackers to massively hack into insecure Snapchat accounts. Either way, it’s a good idea to update your Snapchat password right away.
At the time of this writing, Snapchat has yet to comment on the issue. I’m purely speculative, but it looks like we would have heard from the company by now if the alerts were triggered by some random, widespread system glitch.
Some have speculated that this could mean that the attackers have undertaken a large-scale 2FA phishing attempt , but judging by the screenshots that users have shared on Twitter and other social networks, I’m not sure about this explanation either.
The texts posted online appear to be official 2FA codes sent from Snapchat, which would be unusual for a 2FA phishing scam. A common two-factor phishing tactic is to ask the user to “confirm” their two-factor authentication codes and other account information via text message or email, and two-factor authentication doesn’t work on Snapchat or anywhere else. (No company will ever ask you for your account information.) Other scam 2FA messages may include a link to a fake login page that looks like the real one but actually uses your login criteria.
None of the random 2FA Snapchat texts I’ve seen on social media contain these red flags, which casts doubt on the phishing scam theory. However, this does not mean that it was not a hacking attempt.
Snapchat sends 2FA codes whenever someone logs in on a new device, so messages could indicate external login attempts. If it does not crash, it may be a sign that someone got their hands on a list of user names and passwords Snapchat as 2FA codes are sent only after you have entered the correct login information. It could also mean that accounts for which two-factor authentication was not enabled have already been compromised – again assuming it was a hack.
Whatever the reason, this two-factor authentication issue is the perfect excuse to validate the security of your Snapchat account. Users must change their password and double check the security of their accounts with HaveIBeenPwned . And if you’re not already using 2FA on Snapchat (and, frankly, for all of your other social media and email accounts), it’s advised to enable it ASAP .
[ PiunikaWeb ]