You receive a message from your “friend” or “loved one” out of the blue.(2) They reach out from a familiar WhatsApp account after hijacking that number. Scammers typically use one of two methods to pull off this scam: (1) They message you from a new number claiming to be your friend. But what they really want is your six-digit WhatsApp verification code, personal information, or money. In this scam, fraudsters pose as friends or loved ones of the victim and claim to be in need of immediate help. Also, verbally confirm any bank account details before you initiate a fund transfer. Send a text message or make a phone call to confirm whether they’ve actually lost access to their phone. What to do: Verify your child's supposed new number. Once the victim sends the money, the scammer disappears.Further, the scammer insists they urgently need money and then sends over bank details for a transfer.In other variations of this story, the scammer may claim to have been locked out of their mobile banking app. The scammer narrates a convincing tale about a lost or broken phone so as to justify this new number.The target receives a WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming to be from their child.Unsuspecting parents are deceived into transferring funds into a scammer’s bank account. It involves fraudsters impersonating a victim's child and asking for money. The mom and Dad scam is a classic social engineering attack that’s extremely easy to orchestrate. 10 Types of WhatsApp Scams Making the Rounds Today If you’d rather text than talk, how are you protecting yourself against the latest WhatsApp scams? In this guide, we’ll list the most trending scams, how they work, and what you can do to avoid them. After having surpassed 72.2 billion spam calls made in 2021, spam texts show little signs of slowing down. Scammers prowling on text messaging apps like WhatsApp sent a massive 87.8 billion spam texts last year. With over two billion monthly active users, WhatsApp has become a popular platform for scammers to ensnare their targets. If there’s one messaging app that scammers can easily exploit to steal your money and identity, it’s WhatsApp.

Whatsapp scams south africa 2018