A new one is spreading fraud on WhatsApp which uses seemingly friendly messages from numbers with foreign prefixes, including +62 (Indonesia), +370 (Lithuania), +223 (Mali), +84 (Vietnam), +60 (Malaysia) and even +218 (Libya). Scammers contact victims with simple messages, such as «Hi, can we chat?» or «Hi, I hope I don’t bother you!», trying to establish a confidential tone to get their attention.
These messages are sent by cybercriminals with the aim of trick recipients and steal personal or sensitive information. Often i scammers they talk about captivating topics such as job opportunities or “advantageous” investments, or try to convince the victim to open up link suspicious or download malicious applications. In other situations, they pretend to be relatives or friends in difficulty, asking for telephone top-ups or money transfers urgently to deal with supposed problems.
To protect yourself from this type of scam, it is important to take some precautions. Specifically, the advice is to: Not answer to messages from unknown numbers, especially if they use overly familiar language. Then, it’s good practice block immediately the number and report it to the WhatsApp platform. You can do this directly from the conversation, using the “Block and report” and following the instructions.
WhatsApp already offers tools to defend against unwanted contacts, especially from numbers not saved in the address book. It is therefore essential to pay attention and act quickly to avoid falling victim to these fraudulent schemes which can put your security and personal data at risk.
