Today cybercriminals use many different types of scams to deceive individuals into giving up their personal or financial information. Do scammers use WhatsApp? Yes, they do because of its immense popularity as a chat app. WhatsApp has over two billion users. This makes it a great platform for scammers looking for victims they can deceive.
The app uses some strong security measures but this doesn’t mean users are safe from scams. It helps to have some knowledge of these scams, such as fake tech support scams. When users can identify scams, they can take various measures to avoid them and protect themselves.
Social engineering scams
Scammers often use psychological tactics to trick people. They may pose as family members or friends in need. This plays on the emotions of victims. The victim receives a message from a new number or even from a familiar account that’s been hijacked. The message will say the person is in a dire situation of some kind and needs money right away.
Scammers on WhatsApp often send targeted phishing messages. They may appear to be from an institution they trust such as a bank so they can steal their financial information. Many different types of scams similar to this are on the WhatsApp scammer list. Other WhatsApp scams examples include impersonation of family members and dating scams. A WhatsApp video call scammer will try to win the trust of a victim. Once they have this trust, they will use a video for identity theft or blackmail. They know their tricks well so for a common person using this app, it becomes difficult to get out of the trap.
Users should always be wary of messages from unknown numbers. If they create a sense of urgency and ask for money, they shouldn’t respond. A rule of thumb is to never respond to unknown contacts. Users should always confirm a person’s identity via another means of communication before sending money. Users can even consider creating a distress password for family and friends to use. This can prevent them from falling for an impersonation scam.
WhatsApp tech support scams
Scammers can trick victims by appearing to be genuine tech support representatives. The texts will usually look legitimate with a ‘verified’ symbol on the profile picture. The representative will offer to ‘help’ but request sensitive information in order to do so. This may be a 6-digit WhatsApp code or a credit card number. This allows them to gain access to the person’s WhatsApp account.
These tips help users identify and avoid such scams.
- An official WhatsApp account doesn’t have a verified badge in the avatar. It appears next to the contact name.
- Tech support reps won’t message users through the app.
- Tech support reps will never ask for verification codes or credit card information.
- Users should always mute, block, or report scammers who pose as tech support reps. Reporting them can help other users from being deceived.
Verification code scam
The verification code scam involves a scammer tricking a victim into sharing a verification code. Scammers use the code to take over an account and block the user out. They need the SMS verification number that’s sent to the phone number. Without it, they can’t complete the verification process.
WhatsApp will send individuals a push notification when someone tries to register a WhatsApp account with their phone number. Receiving one means a scammer has entered the phone number and requested a registration code.
Users should never share a verification code with others. Text messages with unexpected verification codes should be deleted. They should block WhatsApp users who ask them to send a code.
Using two-step verification can help if users receive many one-time codes unexpectedly. Using 2FA on WhatsApp adds an extra layer of security. Another code is necessary to access an account.
WhatsApp Gold scam
This simple yet effective scam has been deceiving WhatsApp users for some time. They get what appears to be an official WhatsApp message. The unsolicited message comes from an unknown sender. It offers an upgrade to WhatsApp Gold, a premium service. This upgrade doesn’t actually exist. Clicking a link in the message takes the victim to a fake website. On this website, users fill in confidential information scammers can use. They may also infect the user’s mobile device with malware.
WhatsApp users should report scams like the WhatsApp Gold scam. To report a scammer, users need to open the chat with them, press Options, and choose View Contact. When they press Report, WhatsApp will receive the last five messages sent to them. This gives WhatsApp the information they need to deal with them.
Gift card and survey scams
A message asking a user to claim a gift card or fill out a survey is likely to be a scam. The message may seem legitimate because it’s associated with a popular brand. When users click a link in the message they will usually go to a fake page where they fill in information. Instead of receiving a gift card, the user is at risk of identity theft.
Even if an offer like this appears to be authentic, users must be cautious. They should never click on promotional links unless they first check the company’s website and social media accounts.
Recruitment scam
A common scam on WhatsApp in 2024 is a recruitment scam. Recruiters claim to be hiring for positions that allow users to work from home in their spare time. If a user takes the bait, they will get them to do some small tasks in exchange for small amounts of money.
They may have to watch and like YouTube videos, write reviews, or participate in surveys. As soon as they feel the job is legitimate, the scammers offer them a larger task and urge them to pay an advance fee with a guaranteed return.
Genuine job offers won’t come with upfront payments. These job offers prey on the desperation of unemployed people. Users should also be cautious of any job offers involving cryptocurrency transactions. Scammers exploit the fact that they are anonymous and irreversible.
Other ways to identify a scammer
If users want to know how to identify a scammer on WhatsApp, there are various red flags. These may be spelling and grammatical errors or offers that seem too good to be true.
WhatsApp scammers who pose as family members or friends need a good reason for not showing up as a contact on a user’s phone. They often say this is because they have a new phone. They will then request money and make the request urgent.
When users receive a text or call asking for personal information, it should be an immediate red flag. WhatsApp scam calls may come from unknown numbers and if users haven’t initiated contact, they should be suspicious. Receiving texts from ‘family or friends’ asking for money should be another immediate red flag. Users should confirm the identity of the individual through another form of communication.
Scammers may send texts to millions of people in the hopes that some take the bait. These texts usually use generic greetings like ‘Hey’ or ‘Hi there’.
Add further security to a WhatsApp account
WhatsApp doesn’t have passwords for users but a new feature allows them to enable passkeys. This can strengthen the security of an account. Enabling passkeys means users must verify their identity before they can access their account. To enable passkeys, users need to open WhatsApp and go to Settings>Account. They will tap Passkeys, Create Passkey, and follow the instructions.
Conclusion
Unless users know how to identify WhatsApp scams, it is easy to fall victim to them. Once they are able to identify them, they can protect themselves. It is usually fairly easy to spot common scams. This makes them easier to avoid than more sophisticated phishing attacks. Users don’t need any technical knowledge to protect themselves against the most common scams. All they need is to take some common sense security measures.