Computer illustration.
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RAPHAEL BLOCH / SIPA
A cybercriminal claims to have the phone numbers of some 500 million Facebook account holders.
The hacker offered Telegram access to this data via an automatic program on the mail.
The information is hidden there but can be revealed by buying credits, explains
Motherboard
, relayed by
Vice
.
Facebook users in 19 countries are said to be affected by this security breach.
The mobile phone numbers of Internet users from the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and 15 other countries would thus be present in the database sold by the cybercriminal.
Facebook said that the latter had obtained the information by exploiting a vulnerability identified and corrected by the company in August 2019. The stolen numbers are old but still constitute an invasion of privacy.
20 dollars for a phone number
Data hacking and marketing "seriously undermines privacy and will certainly be used for SMS phishing and other fraudulent activities by malicious people," said Alon Gal, co-founder of the specialist company. Cyber Security Hudson Rock.
The expert recommends that Facebook inform potential victims so that they redouble their vigilance.
The data offered for sale is that of users of the social network who linked their phone number to their account before Facebook discovered the vulnerability.
To obtain one of the phone numbers offered by the hacker, you must indicate the target's identifier and pay a virtual token.
These are sold for 20 dollars (approximately 16 euros) each but the price decreases according to the quantities purchased.
For example, you have to pay 5,000 dollars (4,110 euros) for 10,000 credits.
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