In the last period you may have noticed messages from known numbers, strange requests, often in English. The scams on WhatsApp they seem to be increasing (even if due to the nature of the phenomenon it is difficult to quantify them), but with a little attention it becomes possible protect yourself.
How to protect yourself from WhatsApp scams
Scammers on WhatsApp can come under several maybe. Sometimes they may even be people you have met in person and to whom you have inadvertently given the number yourself. But a new phenomenon is being increased that uses a mix of artificial intelligence and scam skills to get your money.
Scammers often buy a VoIP number (technically not allowed on WhatsApp) and look for valid numbers on WhatsApp with a bot. At this point by sending a message to your account, usually in English, with an excuse to contact you. For instance “Sorry, who are you? I found you in my address book“(” Sorry, who are you? I found you in my address book “).
This is a screenshot of a conversation managed by WABetaInfo, to give you an idea:
From the very first interaction, the scammers try to extract information. They ask what your name is, what work do you do. They give you some compliments to make you smile. And they send their own photo, usually posing as girls, but by inspecting the shots you can see that they are computer created.
After a long conversation, they will ask you to add on social come Instagram e Facebook. In this way they will be able to consult the data of your accounts, and then pretend mutual friendships or shared interests. The next move could be to sell any information collected to hackers and cybercriminals. Or they could blackmail you with ‘private’ photographs, whether you have actually shared them or whether they are Photoshopped for the occasion.
How to defend yourself?
When it comes to cybersecurity, the first and most important step is always training. The fact that you have been looking for information on possible scams on WhatsApp is already a good sign.
The basic rules in these cases are:
- ignore i unknown contacts. If someone wants to write to you on WhatsApp to offer you a job or because a friend of yours has given them your number, they will specify it in the message clearly. Nobody “finds your number in the phone book” and writes to you out of thin air.
- do not share personal information, including your social media accounts.
- you can report the contact to WhatsApp, like this:
- From the conversation, click on the three menu points at the top right
- Select More
- Choose Report
- protect your profile picture, showing it only to contacts:
- From the main menu, click on the menu dots at the top right
- Choose Settings
- Then Account
- Privacy
- Under Profile Picture, select “My contacts”
- If you skip any of the above steps and the contact harasses you or blackmails you, don’t hesitate to contact Police post and the others police
By following these tips, scammers should not have access to any sensitive data. But remember: your attention is an indispensable tool for online safety, even on WhatsApp.