WhatsApp Scam Alert: How to Spot Them Quickly

Whatsapp, an instant messaging service, published a guide on Safe and Private Messaging in an effort to increase consumer awareness of product features and online safety.

The guidelines that have been released encourage discussions about online problems and other straightforward but helpful fixes that keep everyone safe as we spend more and more waking hours online or on our phones.

Check out some of the actions Whatsapp suggested below:

Keep secret information private:

Since we conduct business online on a daily basis, it is crucial to secure our personal data and privacy online. Keep private information like your address, phone number, password, credit card or debit card number, and bank account information to yourself.

Users of WhatsApp can manage their personal information, including their profile photo, last seen, online status, about, and who sees it—everyone, contacts only, specific contacts, or no one. When you wish to keep your online appearance private, you can also manage it by choosing who can and cannot see you when you are online.

Additional security measures to protect your account:

By turning on the two-step verification option, which requires a six-digit pin when resetting and authenticating your WhatsApp account, users can add an additional layer of security to their account. This is useful in the event that the phone is compromised or a sim card is taken.

Destroy the forward chain:

As a means to encourage users to think twice before sharing, WhatsApp has created a label for all forwarded messages and limited the number of times you can transmit messages.

Whatsapp just added new group forwarding restrictions, limiting the number of groups that can receive messages with the “forwarded label” to one instead of five. So, avoid forwarding messages if you are unsure of their origin.

Recognize and Report scams:

Spam, cyber threats, and fraud, whether in the form of job offers, cash prizes, or fully sponsored trips, are all too common on the internet. These messages frequently request access to personal information using veiled malware or connecting to websites.

Whatsapp, unlike traditional SMS or other platforms, offers users an easy means to respond to such communications by simply long-pressing the message to “ban or report” the account to Whatsapp.

Fake news? Check the facts:

There are ten independent fact-checking organizations on WhatsApp in India that assist users in locating, reviewing, and validating the material as well as assisting in the effort to stop the spread of false information.

The tiplines, which are available in English and 11 Indian languages, serve as a useful resource for confirming potentially misleading content, such as images, videos, and even voice recordings that might be fake.