There’s few things as devious as a scammer out to get your personal information or sell a bogus item to you. Unfortunately, no platform seems to be safe against these scamsters. Whatsapp is no different, and certainly, no safer.
With nothing but your number, which can be bought on lists from marketing agencies (yip, each time you click “I want to receive promotional offers” on yet another site, your number gets added to these lists), scammers can contact you and start the game.
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- Faithfully reviewed over 500 International online dating and matchmaking services
- She has been testing online dating services for over 10 years.
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- Author of dating ebooks, including ‘International Dating Digest For Men: Finding Love Overseas’.
- She has contributed in many publications including Notsalmon.com, Marriage.com, or Medium.com.
What Are the Signs You're Being Scammed on WhatsApp?
There are several scams that do the rounds on Whatsapp. Some scams even seem to report scams, alerting you to a potential threat and trying to get you to click on a link to “improve your device security.” However, that link is only a ploy to steal your personal information.
Many different scams on Whatsapp are frequently doing the rounds. A few are well known, but many scams masquerade as legitimate marketing efforts too.
Fake Profiles
Scammers don’t use their real identity to trick people. Instead, they may clone a profile or use a stolen profile image to pretend they are someone else.
When you search for the person who is trying to contact you online, you may find they are a legitimate bank manager or more, except you aren’t communicating with the person you think you are.
Whatsapp Blackmail Scams
Another popular scam is to copy your profile pictures and create photoshopped risky pictures that are sent to you. The scammer threatens to upload these images to your social media accounts if you don’t pay them a blackmail fee.
Unknown Friends
Sudden friend requests from a person who perhaps claims to have been at school with you years ago or even that they worked with you many years ago may be a romance and dating scammer trying to gain your trust.
Once they have started chatting you up, they gain your trust, and soon (before you know it), you’ve shared personal information that they can use to gain access to your accounts and finances.
They may also play the long-con, where they get you to trust them so much that they can ask for a loan or that you invest in their crypto-currency program and more.
Text Bombs
Whatsapp is essentially your phone communicating via the internet on a network. So don’t be surprised when these scammers send you a text bomb that’s hiding a type of Trojan horse.
The walls of text that comes your way may contain a character that causes your phone to crash.
Once you have rebooted your phone, the scammer has access to your contact list, and they can access your personal information and previous messages.
If you’ve ever given people your bank account numbers on Whatsapp, they can instantly locate these messages. And by puzzling together all your other personal information bits, they can hack into your bank account.
Be Cautious While Replying to Unknown DMs on WhatsApp
As a rule, never reply to messages on Whatsapp from unknown numbers. Scammers are good at hiding their identity, and they may pretend to be a financial or legal institution that’s trying to contact you regarding an inheritance, savings, or investments.
Even just a reply that you’re not interested may be sufficient to give them access to your device. Rather ignore messages that seem to promote a service or offer or invite you to click on links.
How Do I Report a Scam to WhatsApp?
The steps to follow if you want to report a suspicious message to Whatsapp are as follow:
- Open the chat, but don’t respond to the scammer.
- Click on “More options,” “More,” and then on “Report.”
It’s also a good idea to block any suspicious numbers that try to contact you on Whatsapp.
- Our link tip for you: “How to Use Online Dating Apps Safely” by Teresa Siqueira
Wanna find out how to meet an amazing foreign woman and have experience in International dating, but you have no idea how to start it. Keep calm, we are right here to help! ☝️ Ask Krystyna
