If you have a smartphone or have been exploring the Internet for several years, it is very likely that you have encountered many scams. No matter how varied and varied, the goal is always the same: extorting money from the victim through unethical means. Some of its methods are almost as old as the world. You have to believe they work because criminals still use them today.
WhatsApp is of course not immune to these individuals. Meta can wage a relentless war against scammers, but they continue to flock to the messaging app. One of their favorite tricks has proven itself time and again. First stage: gain the victim’s trust. They act as if they have the wrong number to do this, or as if they have come across you by chance. They then start talking, like asking seemingly innocuous details like your name or occupation.
Beware of these classic yet effective scams on WhatsApp
After a few compliments, they try to access other public information about you. Searching your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Then they usually find your friends list and other dangerous data. All they have to do is reveal their true face by blackmailing you. They often threaten Share a special photo with your loved onessometimes even retouched in Photoshop.
You may be tempted to give them whatever amount you want to keep quiet in the end, but that would be a bad idea because then you would be silent. subjected to further blackmail. The loop will be endless. So what should be done in such a situation? For starters, take advantage of WhatsApp’s ability to not appear online to unknown contacts.
If you still get one of these messages, ignore it. If it’s also a VoIP number, banned by app and therefore undoubtedly hides a scam. then you can report this number to whatsapp, or even do the same for some specific messages that seem suspicious to you. Finally, we recommend that you set all your privacy settings to be accessible only to your contacts.
Source: WaBetaInfo
