The name took up searches on the internet and reached the front pages of newspapers: WhatsApp from Momo. With a disturbing image right that you see below, the phenomenon circulates through the most popular messenger in the country when touching polemic points: children, digital security and urban legend.
Since then, it has become a topic in groups of parents on social networks. In one of the most shared publications on the network, the advertiser Jorge Freire, from So Paulo, reported the moment when he discovered Momo. There were wide-open eyes and an appearance reminiscent of the character in the movie The Call.
Cell phone number from Japan shows disturbing profile photo Photo: Aline Batista / dnetc
List brings more common scams on the internet; find out how to protect yourself
To dnetc, Freire says that his son and a friend watched the video of a YouTuber. As he is eight years old, he doesn't have a smartphone, so he doesn't access WhatsApp, he says. The advertiser says constant care is needed because new things are created all the time. He recommends that parents be part of this medium: They need to have Facebook and Instagram, and understand how it works. Monitor children and talk a lot about the dangers that the online world poses.
After all, what Momo? What are the dangers? We look at the topic to bring the following information.
Momo is the name given to an alleged WhatsApp user. Spanish-speaking newspapers first saw the situation last week. They clarified that a kind of chain urged children and adolescents to save a number from Japan (+81) in the phonebook. In this way, they could talk to a supposed evil character.
Since then, other phone numbers from different countries have also been assigned Momo. In addition, segments of the press started to say that it was a chatbot, a virtual robot programmed to respond to messages as if it were a person.
We did the test: we added the assigned number Momo, but the character did not answer us.
Adding the supposed Momo number soon shows the woman's profile photo above. The framework implies that a person, but in reality portrays a sculpture made in Japan. It is not about editing in Photoshop, but about the work of an artist.
Sculpture in Japan served as the basis for the profile photo of the character Momo Photo: Reproduction / Internet
What is the biggest problem with Momo?
Children and teenagers seem to be the target of the profile, who is supposed to participate in chat. We use the verb here in the conditional because, in the dnetc, the assigned Momo numbers did not respond to our messages.
The specialist in digital security Thiago Marques, from Kaspersky, explains the following: We recently had the episode of the Blue Whale. There is a greater risk because you have your child talking to a stranger. The content of the messages in the healthy: the person tries to seek more information about his family. Later, this data could be used in some more complete attack, by using the trust established with the young person to ask for the credit card number. I could also urge you to access a form with personal information.
He highlights the social engineering techniques employed in similar scams. In such a case, the attacker takes the conversation so that the victim passes on important details, such as CPF, parents' names and passwords. the famous take in Libya, talk and convince, says.
Is there a risk when adding a contact list?
There is no risk in simply placing a new number in the WhastApp, as this procedure does not install anything on the phone. Users afraid to install viruses can be reassured.
Marques remembers, however, that the messenger brings privacy adjustments. If you release the profile photo only for registered contacts, the person on the other side will be able to see this image and some details, such as the public message (old status), he says.
Is there a risk when receiving a link?
According to the expert, the links are part of several malicious campaigns on the network, as it can lead to a page with viruses, for example. It can also take you to a website that captures smartphone data or requests private information, he concludes. Not by chance, WhatsApp is testing a tool that warns of problematic sites.
