A Cuban content creator has documented in real-time at least four attempts to steal his WhatsApp account through social engineering, warning thousands of Cubans about a scam method that is spreading across the island using gasoline sale advertisements as bait.
Luis Manresa posted on Facebook the fourth scam attempt he suffered, a video that garnered over 391,000 views and 14,600 "likes," reflecting the significant concern of the Cuban public regarding this type of digital fraud.
The mechanism is technically simple but psychologically effective: the criminal installs WhatsApp on their phone and enters the victim's number, which causes the platform to automatically send a verification code via SMS to the original phone.
Then, the scammer calls the victim under some pretext —in this case, sending a supposed "confirmation catalog" related to the purchase of gasoline for 3,000 Cuban pesos— and asks them to share the code displayed on the screen.
"That code you see on the screen should not be shared with anyone. SMS codes, WhatsApp codes, should not be shared with anyone," Manresa warned in the video.
If the victim provides the six-digit code, the attacker takes control of the account and uses it to post false statuses, change bank transfer details, or request money from contacts while impersonating the legitimate owner.
"The scammer inputs my number from their mobile. And when they request the code, since it’s obviously my number, the code comes to me right on the screen. If I share that code with them, my WhatsApp gets hacked, and that’s when the problems start," Manresa explained.
The excuse regarding gasoline is not coincidental: the energy crisis in Cuba has driven the price of fuel in the informal market to over 4,000 pesos per liter, making any sales offer particularly enticing for the population.
This type of fraud falls within a broader wave of digital scams that has notably surged in Cuba during 2025 and 2026. In April, Bandec warned in Matanzas about two types of digital scams via WhatsApp, and that same month it was reported that scams on social media resulted in losses of 2,100 million pesos on the island.
In May, victims reported losses of up to 70,000 pesos in a new wave of thefts, while senior citizens have been identified as the most vulnerable group due to their lesser familiarity with digital platforms.
This month, an alert was issued regarding the identity theft of CUPET to sell supposed "balitas" of fuel, which shows that scammers are combining various excuses related to the shortage to deceive their victims.
To protect yourself, experts recommend enabling two-step verification on WhatsApp by going to Settings > Account > Two-step verification, using a six-digit PIN and a recovery email. The Central Bank of Cuba has reiterated that no official administrator from Transfermóvil, EnZona, or the banks contacts clients through private messages to request codes.
Manresa concluded his video with a direct appeal to the public: "Share the video with your mom, your dad, your grandpa, your grandma, with everyone. Share it so that people can fully understand how this works."
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