The WABetainfo team, which pays close attention to everything that happens on WhatsApp, has warned against scammers sending messages aimed at building relationships with users.
According to Russia Today, chatting often begins with a simple message saying, "Sorry, who are you?" I found you in my address book. And if they get a response, the scammer will then try to win the trust of the WhatsApp user, slowly trying to extract more and more personal data that may end up leaving the victim at risk of being blackmailed.
In an effort to find out more, the team at WABetainfo decided to play alongside the scammers to see what personal data they were looking to obtain. After chatting for a long time, the thieves started asking to be added as a friend on personal accounts like Facebook and Instagram. If they grant this, it will give them access to the full list of people's friends and close contacts. It is believed that scammers then use this to try to blackmail the victim by threatening to send offensive images they may have obtained or simply create fake images using software such as Photoshop.
It is not clear how many users were targeted in this latest scam, but the team at Express recently received a very similar type of chat. "Hello, it seems I don't know you, but I don't know why you are on my friends list, which is very strange," the message read. When no response occurred, another message was sent: "Your number is from England, are you British?" And if you receive any WhatsApp chats from people you don't know, it is wise not to reply and delete the chat without delay.
