Some Digicel customers have had their WhatsApp accounts hijacked in recent days after experiencing an issue with their short message services (SMS).

The users, all of whom identified that they used the Digicel mobile service, told the DAILY NATION that along with the loss of their social media instant messaging account, they could no longer receive SMS messages.

The short message system, which relies on the cellular network, is used to send standard text messages among mobile users. It often serves as the medium for two-factor authentication and security logins for personal accounts such as WhatsApp or, in some cases, mobile banking accounts.