WhatsApp Scam Prevention: 20 Common Red Flags and prevention

WhatsApp Scams: Stay Safe

WhatsApp is one of the most popular and trusted communication apps globally.
They are used by millions every day for everything from personal messaging to
business interaction, updating work-related issues, and getting notifications from your bank.
As WhatsApp has become so popular, unfortunately so has the prevalence of scammers who make use
of it as their primary means of committing fraud.

Scammers constantly come up with new ways to deceive users, and these scams are
increasing at an alarming rate. Fake job offers, impersonation, one-time password fraud,
loan scams, lottery scams, and even artificial intelligence-created messages are
now all being utilized as a means to deceive users.

In this detailed guide, you will learn what WhatsApp scams are, the most common
methods that end users fall prey to, and how you can protect yourself and your family.

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1. What Is a WhatsApp Scam?

Criminals use WhatsApp as a medium to commit fraud. Criminals might attempt to deceive you into
providing them with your sensitive banking and/or personal information via WhatsApp messages,
phone calls and links. Usually, criminals are after your money or to steal your information by
having you provide what is known as an OTP (One-Time Password) or your login credentials.
Criminals might attempt to trick or deceive you into:

• Sending money to the scammer.
• Sharing OTPs (One-Time Passwords) and/or your login credentials.
• Clicking on their malicious links which will download malicious software to your device.
• Downloading programs/applications that could harm your device or your data.
• Giving them sensitive banking/or personal details.

2. Why Are WhatsApp Scams Increasing So Fast?

Scammers are moving away from traditional email “phishing” to WhatsApp, which has a much higher
success rate. This is due in part to:

• User Base- 2 billion+ active users worldwide.
• Trust- These are perceived as much more personal and urgent than emails.
• Encryption- End-to-End encryption may pose challenges to law enforcement
  tracking real-time scam activity.
• Automation- Scammers are using AI/bots to send thousands of messages at once.

3. How WhatsApp Scams Work

A standard sequence of events occurs when scamming attempts occur in order to circumvent
logical thought processes.

1. The Hook: Receiving an unexpected communication, often coming from an
   unknown or overseas number.
2. Emotion: The communication creates either a feeling of Urgency (Your Account
   has been Blocked!) or Excitement (You Won a Prize)
3. Instructions: You are provided an easy instruction for you to follow:
   Click this link or share this Code.
4. Compromise: After you follow any instruction provided you become a target
   and your money or account is compromised.

4. Most Common WhatsApp Scam Types

Your best chance to avoid being a victim of a scam is to be aware. You can recognize a scam
quickly with these types of scams:

• Financial- Investments or “Double your money ” investments.
• Identity- a friend or family member going through tough times.
• Utility- a legitimate company providing fake customer support, such as banks
  or utility companies.

5. Fake Job Offers on WhatsApp

At this time, the most common scam affecting students and job-seekers is as follows:

The standard message says
“Hello [Your name], I’m [recruiter name] from HR at [large company] and have viewed your resume;
we have a part-time position available at 500 dollars per day. Are you interested?”

Red flags associated with this scam include:

• The recruiter contacted you using a free email service (Gmail, Yahoo) rather than the company
  email domain.
• The recruiter asked for a registration fee or security deposit for a laptop.
• The pay being offered is overly generous for the degree of skill required to perform the job
  (i.e., liking a YouTube video)

6. WhatsApp OTP Scam Explained

The scheme has been called the WhatsApp Burning Scam, and it is used to take over a person’s
WhatsApp account. The scammer uses a method to have a registration code come to your phone
number. The Scammer will then send you a message saying, “Hello, I mistakenly sent my 6-digit
code to your number. Can you please send it back to me? It is important!”

What the message does is to give them the 6-digit code that will allow them to log into your
account on their device. When you send the code back to the scammer, you will have locked
yourself out of your own WhatsApp account and the scammer will be able to contact your friends
to request that they send them money.

7. Fake Lottery & Prize Scams

Lottery or WhatsApp’s 1st anniversary prize winners are all fiction! WhatsApp has never held
a lottery! Scammers will provide you with a processing fee (or GST) to release your funds,
but that money will never be given to you!

8. Loan & Instant Credit WhatsApp Scams

Scam advertisers targeting those in financial need advertise “Immediate Loans at 0% Interest”
and “No Credit Check” but typically direct you to a “Loan App” that will take pictures from your
contact list and pictures from your gallery to try and blackmail you in the future.

9. WhatsApp Business Impersonation Scams

Fraudsters set up phony businesses that use a reputable company’s logo (e.g. bank, Amazon or
Fed Ex). Then they send notifications of “questionable activity” or “package delivery problem”
to lure you into calling the fake help line.

10. QR Code & Payment Request Scams

Critical Rule: You NEVER need to scan a QR code or enter your UPI PIN to
receive money. If someone sends you a QR code saying “Scan this to receive your
payment,” they are trying to withdraw money from your account.

11. WhatsApp Romance & Friendship Scams

The method of operation referred to as “Pig Butchering” by scammers uses a long-term strategy
to defraud victims. Scammers cultivate a relationship with their victims over the course of
several weeks and ultimately solicit the victim for funds for a “medical emergency” or an
investment opportunity they claim is 100% guaranteed.

12. AI-Generated WhatsApp Scam Messages

Scammers are now utilizing generative AI to produce high-quality, professional quality messages
in any language with great accuracy. Some scammers have even utilized AI Voice Cloning
technology to generate audio files containing messages with the same voice as that of a family
or friend to make them appear to be in trouble.

13. Signs You Are Being Targeted by a WhatsApp Scam

• Phone Numbers with Unknown Country Codes: Receiving texts from international
  country codes such as +234 (Nigeria), +62 (Indonesia), & +92 (Pakistan)
• Unusual English: Texts containing poor grammar, awkward wording and too many
  emojis.
• High Pressure Communication: Urgency in requests i.e. “You must act immediately
  or your account will be terminated.”
• Requests for Codes: Any request for a six digit one-time password (OTP).

14. Real-Life WhatsApp Scam Examples

• A con artist pretending to be your kid gets in touch with you and says they’re broke and have
  lost their phone and need money to get a new phone.

• You receive a message telling you your electricity will be turned off tonight if you do not
  call them.

15. What To Do If You Fall for a WhatsApp Scam

• Contact Bank: If any financial information has been compromised, consider
  freezing all accounts to prevent further loss.

• Rest WhatsApp: If your WhatsApp account has been compromised, attempt to
  regain access to the account to remove the scammer’s access.

• Inform Friends: Let your friends and family know that you have been the
  victim of a scam so they can avoid sending money to the scammer.

• Report: Utilize the built-in “Report” option located on the scammer’s
  profile.

16. How to Secure Your WhatsApp Account

The best thing you can do is to turn on Two-Step Verification (2SV). It will
require scammers to enter an additional PIN when trying to access your account, even if they
have the one-time password (OTP).

1. Enable 2SV – Go to: Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification >
   Enable

2. Change your Group Settings – Go to: Settings > Privacy > Groups:
   Change to “My Contacts” (you can prevent people you do not know from adding you to Scam
   groups).

3. Enable “Silence Unknown Callers” – Go to: Settings > Privacy >
   Silence Unknown Callers (this will help to prevent you from receiving calls from people you
   do not know).

18. How Businesses Can Prevent WhatsApp Scams

If you operate a company, submit an application for your Green Tick (verified badge). By doing
so, you can assist your patrons in differentiating your business’ legitimate communications
from those trying to mislead customers into thinking they are from your firm. Furthermore,
your verified badge will assist customers in locating the correct Company when searching
online.

19. Legal Action & Reporting WhatsApp Scams

If you have experienced a cybercrime in India, please go to the website

www.cybercrime.gov.in

to submit an online report, or you can call the national helpline at 1930.
Remember to take screenshots of your conversation with the scammer and save their phone
number for reference.

20. Future of WhatsApp Scams

With enhanced Security Measures, the Scammers will begin to use Deepfake technology more often. Expect to see increased numbers of Video Chat Scams, where the Scam Caller’s face is altered digitally, to appear like that of a Trustworthy Authority. Therefore, you will need to Ensure that you are always Vigilant.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Final Words

WhatsApp scams are not just a technical problem—they are a trust problem. Staying alert and informed is the best way to protect yourself. Stay safe. Stay informed.