WhatsApp has announced a significant step in its fight against sophisticated scams, revealing it has proactively banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to criminal scam centers in the first half of this year alone. This decisive action was taken before these fraudulent campaigns could be fully launched, preventing potential harm to countless users.
Kojo Boakye, Vice President of Public Policy, Africa, Middle East and Türkiye at Meta, emphasized that combating scams is a constant battle. “This is part of our unwavering commitment to protect our users,” he said, highlighting that the company is not just banning malicious accounts but also providing users with the tools and knowledge to recognize and avoid these threats.
Criminal scam centers often run multiple fraudulent campaigns simultaneously, from fake cryptocurrency investments to pyramid schemes. A major red flag is when they demand upfront payments for promised returns. These operations are designed to evade detection by individual services, starting on dating apps or through text messages, and then moving to platforms like WhatsApp before ultimately directing victims to payment or cryptocurrency platforms.
In one recent example of a multi-platform attack, WhatsApp, Meta, and OpenAI worked together to disrupt a scam network in Cambodia. This operation used ChatGPT to generate initial text messages that directed targets to WhatsApp. From there, victims were moved to Telegram, where they were given the task of liking videos on TikTok before being coerced into depositing money into crypto accounts.
In addition to banning fraudulent accounts, WhatsApp is rolling out new features to protect users.
- Group Messaging: Users who are added to unfamiliar groups by someone not in their contacts will now see a safety overview. This overview provides key information and safety tips, allowing users to exit the group without having to view the chat. Notifications from these groups will be silenced until a user decides to engage.
- Individual Messaging: WhatsApp is also testing new ways to caution users before they interact with unknown contacts. This includes providing additional context about a sender when a chat is initiated with someone not in their contacts, which helps users make more informed decisions.
WhatsApp encourages all users to adopt a “Pause, Question, Verify” approach to help protect themselves from scams.
- PAUSE: Take a moment before responding. Think about whether you recognize the number or if the message seems legitimate.
- QUESTION: Does the request make sense? Is it too good to be true? Are they asking for money or gift cards? Are they rushing you to act? These are all signs of a potential scam.
- VERIFY: If the sender claims to be a friend or family member, contact them directly using another method, like a phone call, to verify their identity before taking any action.