Consequences (News): If successful, the scammer gains full control of your account, can impersonate you to your contacts (often asking for money), and lock you out. News outlets and police forces regularly issue warnings about this.
Protection (News): is to always enable Two-Step Verification (2FA) on WhatsApp and never share your 6-digit verification code with anyone.
Data Scraping and Leaks:
News: While WhatsApp denies direct "leaks" from its servers, there have been significant news reports (e.g., late 2022) of large databases of WhatsApp user phone numbers appearing for sale online. These are often believed to be compiled by "scraping" publicly available numbers or via other illicit means.
Risk: Even if not a direct hack of WhatsApp, the slovenia whatsapp number data existence of such databases means your phone number could be on a list used for targeted scams and spam.
2. New Features for User Identification (The "Better" News)
WhatsApp is actively introducing features that reduce the reliance on directly exposing your phone number and give you more control over your identity.
Usernames Are Coming (The Biggest News!):
Details: This is a highly anticipated feature currently being rolled out or actively developed in beta versions for both Android and iOS. It will allow users to create a unique username (e.g., @yourname).
Implication: This means you'll be able to share your username with people, and they can find and message you on WhatsApp without ever seeing your phone number. This is a significant privacy upgrade, especially for new connections or professional contacts.
News: WABetaInfo, a reliable source for WhatsApp beta news, has consistently covered this, noting its progress and features like the ability to be notified when a contact changes their username.
"Phone Number Privacy" in Communities:
Details: WhatsApp has introduced a feature that hides your phone number from most other members in a WhatsApp Community. Only community admins and people who already have your number saved will see it.