Albania's State Police have issued a public warning urging citizens to be vigilant against a growing wave of phishing scams targeting WhatsApp users through fraudulent messages and malicious links circulating online.

According to police, scammers are sending messages claiming to ask recipients to vote in online contests, confirm an action, or complete other seemingly legitimate requests. Victims who click on the links are then prompted to enter WhatsApp's six-digit verification code.

Authorities warned that once the code is shared, fraudsters can register the victim's WhatsApp account on another device, effectively taking control of the account. The compromised account may then be used to deceive the victim's contacts, spread additional phishing links, or carry out other forms of online fraud.

The State Police advised the public not to click on suspicious links, even if they appear to come from friends or trusted contacts. Officials also stressed that users should never share their WhatsApp verification code with anyone under any circumstances.

As an additional layer of protection, police encouraged users to enable WhatsApp's Two-Step Verification feature, which requires an extra PIN to access the account and helps prevent unauthorized logins.

Authorities also urged anyone who believes their WhatsApp account has been compromised to act immediately by attempting to recover the account and notifying their contacts to reduce the risk of further scams.