IF YOU get an urgent WhatsApp message from a friend or family member, think twice before replying.
According to one Brit scam expert, crooks are sending out phoney texts in which they pose as loved ones in a bid to steal people’s cash.
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Interacting with them could grant crooks access to your savings, says James Walker, who heads up U.K. fraud-fighting group Rightly.
Speaking to The Sun, James urged WhatsApp users to be extremely cautious of a message purporting to be from a friend or family member claiming that they’ve been “caught out” in some way.
This is particularly true if they ask you to transfer money, he said. “Anything that demands immediate payment.”
More often than not, these WhatsApp texts come from an unknown number that isn’t saved on your phone.
The sender claims to be a friend, sibling or daughter who has lost or broken their phone and is borrowing a friend’s to contact you.
They then describe a scenario – such as a missed bill or credit card payment – that they cannot pay and need help with right away.
“What they’re after is for you to send them money by bank transfer or over PayPal,” James said.
Once you’ve paid, they disappear without a trace.
One way to ensure a message is truly from someone you know is to ask them to call you.
If it’s a scammer, they’ll either stop messaging or give an excuse as to why they can’t call. If that’s the case, tell them to ring later.
WhatsApp scam attacks are carried out by cyber gangs through unsolicited messages sent to thousands of people every day.
The techniques that they employ change all of the time but generally involve using social engineering to trick victims.
Recently, crooks have begun posing as family members who they falsely claim need money to get out of a sticky situation.
“Scams are getting more sophisticated all the time,” James told The Sun.
“Typically, they’re interested in either getting money off of you or taking over your WhatsApp account.”
James, whose company helps people to protect their online data, is encouraging Brits to remain vigilant amid a soaring number of scam messages hitting inboxes across the country.
If you receive what you believe is a scam message, do not reply to the sender.
You can report a suspected scam by tapping and holding a message and hitting “Report” in the drop-down menu.
If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam, you should contact your bank immediately to stop any outgoing payments.
You should also get your bank to look into a possible refund.
If you’ve handed over a password for an online account, phone up the organisation and get the account locked down. You may be able to get it reinstated at a later date.
In the UK, you can report a suspected scam email to the National Cyber Security Centre.
Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp, recently joined a UK initiative to halt fraudsters scamming users out of their cash.
“We don’t want fraudulent activity on our platforms and we’re dedicating significant resources to tackling this industry-wide issue,” the company said last month.
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