The Salzburg State Police Directorate issued a warning on Thursday, October 1, 2026, regarding a new WhatsApp scam. Criminals are sending messages from hijacked accounts, inviting contacts to participate in a fake dance voting contest to steal accounts.
Recipients are directed to a fake platform to vote for a young dancer, where they must enter their phone number and a confirmation code or scan a QR code. This allows perpetrators to seize control of the account and target the victim's stored contacts.
Hijacked accounts are used to request urgent money transfers, often citing fake dentist bills. Police advise never sharing confirmation codes and verifying any financial requests through a different communication channel before reporting fraud to authorities.