Check Out 5 Ways To Recognize WhatsApp Spam And What To Do

How to recognize WhatsApp spam (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Online scams are currently spreading everywhere. For cybercriminals, maybe WhatsApp users are also their easy targets. So it is not uncommon for them to launch their actions on the Meta-owned messaging platform.

To recognize spams that are often done via WhatsApp, see the following article:

Messages That Are Often Forwarded

Most WhatsApp users will realize that the app allows you to forward messages received from one person directly to another recipient. However, when the message has been forwarded five times, you will see a double arrow icon, not a single arrow. That is, the message has been forwarded in general.

You will also see a small warning in the message box itself, telling you that the message has been "continued many times". Well, if a message has been forwarded more than five times, it's almost always a form of spam.

Unknown Number

Of course you may find WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers that turn out to be friends who change numbers, or maybe it's spam.

While this is not an effective move, one way to prevent some people from sending you unsolicited messages is to hide your WhatsApp status. The sender will not be able to determine whether your account is active or not. In addition, stay alert if the number asks for things that don't make sense to you.

Suspicious Fraud And Links

Most WhatsApp spams have one goal, namely to try and get you to open a link in a message. If you click on the link, criminals will steal banking details, log in credentials, or any other form of data that has value on the dark web.

The lure of fraud that is often used for victims to click on the link is WhatsApp Gold (WhatsApp premium version), expired WhatsApp fraud, and also fraud under the guise of shopping vouchers.

Therefore, if you receive a message containing a link that you may not recognize, it's better if you don't open it. To avoid unwanted things.

Login/Verification Request

You can't use WhatsApp for two-factor authentication (2FA) on any app or service we know. Of course, you have to set up 2FA on all your accounts.

If you've received a verification message on WhatsApp, when in reality you haven't tried to go anywhere recently, don't worry. That could mean someone is trying to hack your account. The message is spam, and you can safely ignore and block it.

Special Words

Spam often uses the same common tactics to try to deceive you. According to WhatsApp itself, there are five types of general word arrangements in messages you need to know:

If you receive a message that matches one of the criteria, you should delete it immediately.