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Blog · 4 min read

The WhatsApp “vote for my daughter” scam: how it takes over accounts

In October 2026 Italy's Polizia Postale and the Dutch Fraudehelpdesk both warned about the same message. Here is how it works, according to their alerts, and how to get your account back.

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In short

What is the WhatsApp vote scam?

A message from a contact asks you to vote for a young girl in a dance or other online contest. The link leads to a fake site that asks for your phone number and then for the code WhatsApp sends you. Entering that code lets the scammer register or link your WhatsApp on their device, then message your contacts asking for money. If it happened, register your number again in WhatsApp with the 6-digit code to log them out.

How the scam works

  1. 1You get a message from someone you know, often with a photo, asking you to vote for a girl in a dance contest or another online competition.
  2. 2The link opens a fake website. To “verify” your vote, it asks for your phone number.
  3. 3WhatsApp then sends you a code, and the site asks you to type it in.
  4. 4With that code the scammer registers your WhatsApp on another device, or links it to theirs. The Fraudehelpdesk says they can then read along and send messages as you.
  5. 5From your account they message your family and friends with an urgent request for money.

Why it looks real

The message comes from a real contact whose account was already taken over the same way. Italy's Polizia Postale stresses that a message coming from someone you know is not enough to treat it as safe: if you are asked for your phone number or for a code that arrived on your phone, stop and check first.

If you already entered the code

  1. 1Open WhatsApp on your phone and register your number again with the 6-digit code WhatsApp sends by SMS or call. WhatsApp says this logs out every other device.
  2. 2If it asks for a two-step PIN you don't know, the scammer has set one. WhatsApp says to wait 7 days and try again.
  3. 3Check linked devices in WhatsApp and log out any you don't recognise.
  4. 4Warn family and friends through another channel, such as a call or another app, that requests for money from your number are not from you.
  5. 5Turn on two-step verification with a PIN only you know. The Fraudehelpdesk also recommends adding a passkey.

Red flags

  • A vote, contest or prize that needs your phone number on an outside website
  • Any page or person asking for a code that arrived on your phone
  • Your WhatsApp suddenly logging out, or a notice that your number was registered on another device
  • A QR code to scan “to confirm your vote”: the Fraudehelpdesk advises against scanning it

What doesn't help

  • Changing your password: WhatsApp says it doesn't remove someone who has taken over the account
  • Paying someone who promises to recover the account: the code only ever reaches your own phone
  • Reporting your own account before you recover it: WhatsApp warns it could be banned

Frequently asked questions

Can the scammer read my old chats?

If they registered your number on their phone, WhatsApp says they cannot read the conversations stored on your device. If they linked your account as a companion device, the Fraudehelpdesk says they can read along, so log out unknown linked devices at once.

My friend sent me the vote link. What should I tell them?

Call or text them another way. Their account has very likely been taken over; send them our guide to getting a hijacked WhatsApp back.

Where do I report it?

In Italy, the Polizia Postale asks people to report through the official channels of the Commissariato di P.S. Online. In the Netherlands, the Fraudehelpdesk offers personal advice if you clicked or shared a code. In the US or UK, see our US and UK pages for the official reporting sites.

Can you recover my WhatsApp for me?

No. The registration code only reaches your phone, so only you can do it, and we never ask for codes. If the scammer also took your Instagram or Facebook, we can help there through the official processes.

Official sources

The platforms' own help and policy pages. We are not affiliated with them.

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