If you have WhatsApp installed on your iPhone or Android device you must be aware of the latest warnings as ignoring them could leave you seriously out of pocket. With billions using the Meta-owned chat platform every day it’s hardly surprising that it’s become a target for cyber crooks and one nasty trick continues to catch people out.
The infamous friends and family scam has been doing the rounds for years but despite plenty of warnings, it is still catching people out. For those not in the know, this swindle targets users with messages that claim to be from someone they know asking for financial help. Many of the chats begin with the words “Hi mum” and then ask for money to be sent to a bank account.
Some WhatsApp users have lost thousands of pounds to this threat and the team at Action Fraud wants to make sure you don’t become the next victim.
In a post on social media, the cyber service said now is a good time to remind yourself of the dangers of online messages and to be on high alert. It’s also vital to know how to report any activity on accounts and to ‘follow the instructions’ issued by WhatsApp.
“If a family member or friend makes an unusual request on WhatsApp, always call the person outside of WhatsApp to confirm their identity,” Action Fraud said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Report spam messages or block a sender within WhatsApp. Press and hold on the message bubble, select ‘Report’ and then follow the instructions.
“If you lost money as a result of the scam message, please report it to Action Fraud.”
If you get a message that just doesn’t seem right, call the person directly from your contacts list (not from the message) to check it’s really them. If you think it’s a scam, block the message and report it.
Here’s how to block contact and report things to stop more people from becoming victims.
To block a contact simply go to chats and tap and hold on the person you want to block. A list should then appear including the option to “Block” the contact.
Tap on this and you’ll see the option to “Block and Report” tap this and you will no longer get messages from that contact.