Kaspersky has warned of a new scam circulating in European countries that could be replicated in Brazil. Dubbed the " screen mirroring scam ," the attack tricks victims into sharing their phone screen during video calls, allowing criminals to capture verification codes, passwords, and other sensitive information. See below for more details about the scam and how to protect yourself.
This new scam has not yet been observed in Brazil, but it has the potential to arrive in the country, since Brazilian criminals tend to quickly adapt scams that work in other regions, and WhatsApp is very popular locally. “This modus operandi has already been recorded in European countries, such as Portugal, and since social engineering techniques are easily replicable, it is important that Brazilian users are aware and know how to identify this type of attempted fraud,” explains Fabio Assolini, director of Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team for Latin America.
The scam usually begins with a call from someone posing as a bank representative, service provider, or even a known contact—a classic example of social engineering. During the call, the criminal creates a sense of urgency and asks the victim to share their screen to "verify" or "fix" an alleged problem, simulating technical support.
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Example with the screen sharing option during a video call.
By accepting, the victim exposes confidential data displayed on their cell phone, such as authentication codes, passwords, and notifications from financial applications. Taking advantage of the screen view, the criminal can try to activate WhatsApp on another device: when registering the victim's number, WhatsApp sends an One-Time Passcode (OTP) to the phone—a code that the fraudster can see in the notification and use to take over the account. With this, the scammers start sending messages in the victim's name, asking contacts for money and expanding the reach of the fraud.
Criminals often act quickly: after obtaining the information, they try to complete transfers, change passwords, or block the victim's access to their own accounts before the problem is detected.
“Despite not being a new feature (launched in August 2023), the screen sharing function on WhatsApp is little known and used. In fact, this is the first time we've seen social engineering attacks abusing this feature. Although useful in situations where people need technical assistance, the feature has malicious potential if shared with strangers. Despite not allowing remote operation and control of the device, this function is already sufficient for fraudsters to see passwords, usernames, and other important data that, along with social engineering, can lead victims to facilitate scammers' actions,” explains Fabio Assolini.
Meta recently announced new tools to protect WhatsApp and Messenger users from potential scams. Among the new features, WhatsApp will now display warnings when someone tries to share their screen with an unknown contact during a video call, helping to prevent the leakage of confidential information, such as bank details or verification codes.
To protect yourself from this scam, Kaspersky recommends:
- Activate “Silence Unknown Calls” on WhatsApp: go to Settings > Privacy > Calls and enable the option. Calls from unknown numbers will be silenced and recorded in the history, but will not ring on your phone.
- Never share your phone screen with strangers, even during video calls.
- Be wary of unexpected calls: legitimate banks and companies do not ask for codes or screen sharing.
- Do not share verification codes (OTPs), PINs, or passwords with third parties.
- Avoid using financial apps on vulnerable devices, such as old smartphones or those without security updates.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) in all your financial and messaging apps.
- Use security tools, such as Kaspersky Who Calls , to identify and block calls from suspicious numbers.
