WhatsApp has always been house to some of the major scams. Most of the time people receive scam messages offering them money or gold, whereas other times there are fake awareness messages stating that the service will no longer be free in coming days. Moreover, the app has been house to some of the major hate scandals globally. It seems like the association with Facebook has cast its dark shadows on WhatsApp too.
A recent scam message that has been surfacing states that the users can enjoy 1000GB free internet data by the app on the 10th year anniversary of the app. According to an investigation by a cybersecurity firm ESET, this campaign is hosted by a very shady domain. This domain has previously been used for bigger scams and they use the names of big brands to appear authentic. This domain has not only been destroying the image of multiple international brands but also been accused to host some of the biggest scams on WhatsApp.
When clicked on the link the users will be taken to a page where there are several questions that ask about the working of the app and how users find it effective. By the end of the questionnaire, the users are asked to forward the message to 10-15 other people for a reward. This string continue and the marketers don’t have to forward to everyone because most of the users are sending this message to their list.
The problem seems to be that most of the users are not aware of how to spot a scam message. According to an expert, everyone must know that the link in the message has to be an official WhatsApp domain URL (for example https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/android/28030005/). This is one of the very basic indications that will help the users to spot a fake message. Sometimes businesses hire third parties for advertisement and marketing, which becomes one of the main reasons for these scam message campaigns. It is advised that the companies hiring the third party for the advertisement purpose must-see and ask about the campaigns that are being launched because this might bring serious consequences. Moreover, there are companies that generate revenues by collecting online clicks. Both these elements are becoming a big reason for WhatsApp scams.
Read next: WhatsApp Rolls out New Beta Update for iOS... Implements Several Changes!
A recent scam message that has been surfacing states that the users can enjoy 1000GB free internet data by the app on the 10th year anniversary of the app. According to an investigation by a cybersecurity firm ESET, this campaign is hosted by a very shady domain. This domain has previously been used for bigger scams and they use the names of big brands to appear authentic. This domain has not only been destroying the image of multiple international brands but also been accused to host some of the biggest scams on WhatsApp.
When clicked on the link the users will be taken to a page where there are several questions that ask about the working of the app and how users find it effective. By the end of the questionnaire, the users are asked to forward the message to 10-15 other people for a reward. This string continue and the marketers don’t have to forward to everyone because most of the users are sending this message to their list.
The problem seems to be that most of the users are not aware of how to spot a scam message. According to an expert, everyone must know that the link in the message has to be an official WhatsApp domain URL (for example https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/android/28030005/). This is one of the very basic indications that will help the users to spot a fake message. Sometimes businesses hire third parties for advertisement and marketing, which becomes one of the main reasons for these scam message campaigns. It is advised that the companies hiring the third party for the advertisement purpose must-see and ask about the campaigns that are being launched because this might bring serious consequences. Moreover, there are companies that generate revenues by collecting online clicks. Both these elements are becoming a big reason for WhatsApp scams.
Read next: WhatsApp Rolls out New Beta Update for iOS... Implements Several Changes!
