Users of WhatsApp have been sent a multitude of warnings recently due to rising levels of cyber attacks and scams. As billions of people use the Meta-owned app daily, it has become a playground for crooks to trick people into sending them money.
Not all of these scams are easy to catch out, and the messaging app is warning people to stay vigilant and not ignore the latest alerts when they are released. The infamous ‘friends and family’ scam is continuing to make the rounds as it is a massive money maker for offenders, due to people continually ignoring warnings.
The scam basically targets users with messages claiming to be someone they know asking for financial help. The Express explains that many of the chats begin with the words ‘Hi mum’ and then go on to ask for money to be sent into a bank account.
As a result of this trick, some WhatsApp users have lost thousands of pounds and the team at Action Fraud wants to make sure that you don’t fall for the same trick. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the UK cyber help service wants to remind us that we need to always remember that there many dangers online, even messaging apps.
They advise you to “follow the instructions” issued by WhatsApp when given an alert.
If you are suspicious about a message, the service suggests: “If a family member or friend makes an unusual request on WhatsApp, always call the person outside of WhatsApp to confirm their identity. Report spam messages or block a sender within WhatsApp.
“Press and hold on the message bubble, select ‘Report’ and then follow the instructions. If you lost money as a result of the scam message, please report it to Action Fraud.”
WhatsApp has listed some clues to look out for to indicate that you have received a suspicious message. They include:
- Typos or grammatical mistakes
- Asking you to tap on a link, activate a new feature through a link, or download an app
- Asking you to share your personal information, like credit card or bank account numbers, birth date, or passwords
- Asking you to forward a message
- Asking for money or claiming that you have to pay to use WhatsApp
- The scammer pretends they’re someone you know
- The message is about the lottery, gambling, a job, an investment, or a loan
- The person starts chatting with you to gain your trust before asking for personal information.
If a sender is not in your contacts, the app will send you signals in a message that will aid you in how to respond. These signals will let you know if they’re your contact, if you have groups in common, and if their phone number is registered in a different country. This can help you know whether to respond or report and block the number.
How to block and report a contact
To block a contact go to chats and tap and hold on the person you want to block. A list will then appear with the option to “Block” the contact. Tap on this and then tap the “Block and Report” option. You will then no longer receive messages from this contact.
When you report someone, WhatsApp will receive the last five messages the contact sent to you, without them knowing. They will also receive the group or user ID, along with the content of the messages and if they were pictures, links, videos or text.
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