Recently, many people open it early in the morning LINE , only to find that the account was suddenly logged out. After logging in again, the friend list, groups and even chat records disappeared, and the whole person was stunned. What’s even weirder is that some people received unknown verification code text messages beforehand, but didn’t pay much attention to them. This situation does not seem simple, and there may be a loophole behind it that you rarely pay attention to.
▲Picture source:LINE
LINE account suddenly logged out? The storm of misappropriation is expanding. Don’t panic. You must take these steps.
The occurrence of this wave of LINE piracy can actually be traced. Recently, a large number of users have been sharing their experiences on Threads. Many people have encountered almost the same situation. For example, their accounts were suddenly forced to log out. After logging in again, they found that their friend lists, groups, and chat records had all disappeared, and they were even completely unrecoverable. This kind of situation is usually not a simple system abnormality, but the account has been successfully logged in by a third party and the original data has been overwritten.
The most likely attack method currently is for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities in voicemail to obtain the verification code required for login. Generally speaking, when a user tries to log in to LINE, the system will first send a text message verification code to confirm their identity. However, if the hacker cannot intercept the text message, they may use voice verification instead, allowing the system to send the verification code to the user’s voicemail in the form of a voice call. This is where the problem lies.
Many users do not pay special attention to voicemail settings and not only do not turn it off, they even maintain the default password, which gives hackers an opportunity to take advantage of them. Once the voicemail is easily accessed, it is equivalent to directly opening the account’s security defense, allowing others to successfully obtain the verification code and log in to the account.
Why is voicemail a breach?
Voicemail was originally used to receive missed calls, but in some cases, it is also used to receive system verification code voices. If the following conditions are met, the risk will increase significantly:
- Voicemail is not closed
- Use default password
- No two-factor authentication set up
- Mobile phone number was tried to log in
When a hacker attempts to log into your LINE and selects voice verification, he or she will have the opportunity to obtain a verification code through your voicemail and then log into your account.
Sorting out the ways to close voicemails of the three major telecommunications companies
To reduce the risk, the most straightforward way is to close your voicemail, or at least change your password. The following will help you sort out the quick operation methods of the three major telecommunications companies:
Taiwan Big Brother
if you areTaiwan Big BrotherUsers can be processed in two ways:
- To close your voicemail:
Dial 188 directly with your mobile phone and ask customer service for assistance in canceling, or enter the cancellation voicemail through the online customer service “Customer Service Wheat” of the Taiwan Mobile App, and the system will provide a close link. - Change password:
Dial 123 from your mobile phone, then press 3 and follow the instructions to change your voicemail password.
Far EasTone Telecom
Far EasTone TelecomUser operation is simpler:
- Open the Far EasTone Heart Life (formerly Far EasTone Mobile Customer Service) App, search to close the voicemail, and enter your ID number to complete the deactivation.
- Or open the phone dial pad, enter ##002# and press the dial key to close it directly.
Chunghwa Telecom
Chunghwa TelecomThe fastest way is to open the phone dialing keyboard, enter ##002# and press the dialing key to close it directly.
In addition to closing voicemail, these few things are also important
Just turning off your voicemail is not enough. If you really care about your LINE data, it is recommended to do a few more protections.
First, turn on LINE’s two-factor authentication to avoid logging in via SMS alone. Also confirm to set up your email and password, and bind your Apple or Google account to give your account an extra layer of protection.
Back up your chat history regularly, preferably by turning on automatic backup.
Additionally, it is equally important to change your password regularly.
And remember not to click on unsolicited links, as many phishing attacks start here.
▲Picture source:LINE Taiwan official BLOG
As long as one of the links is broken, the account may be taken over.
Conclusion
This wave of LINE account anomalies actually reminds me of one thing. Many settings that we usually don’t care about are the most easily overlooked loopholes. Voicemail is a typical example. It seems to be rarely used, but once it is exploited, the impact is huge. Taking a few minutes now to turn it off or change your password may save you a big headache later. When it comes to account security, you really shouldn’t wait until something goes wrong before you start dealing with it.
Further reading:
Source: KOCPC Chinese