WhatsApp Gets Two New Features To Tackle Scams; Get Alert From Unknown Groups

WhatsApp is taking the scams that are happening within your chatbots seriously. Every day, criminals are using different tactics to trick users with tempting offers or schemes to get money returned quickly with minimal effort. Also Read: Missed A Message On WhatsApp? Soon You Can Ask The App To Remind You, Here's How

WhatsApp revealed that organised scam centres, especially across Southeast Asia, are behind many of these fraudulent schemes. These centres often involve forced labour and run multiple scams at once, such as crypto investment schemes, fake job offers, or pyramid models. In the first half of this year alone, WhatsApp proactively detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to such operations, even before they could trick users. Also Read: WhatsApp Hacked? Here’s How To Get It Back Fast

How is WhatsApp making sure to tackle these scams that are happening on the platform? To understand that, we need to know how these scams work.

How These Scams Typically Work

As per the shared details by Meta, most of these scams follow a pattern. Usually, these scams begin with the apps where people are more keen to interact, such as dating apps, social media or even random texts. Once you have contact with the scammer, they will try to bring the conversation to platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram. 

To make the conversation more real, scammers have even started using AI tools to write messages which sound legitimate. If you fall into the trap, the scammers turn the conversation towards making payments. 

WhatsApp Gets New Features to Stay Safe

To help you stay away from these scams, WhatsApp has introduced some new features, such as:

• Group Safety Overview: One of the crucial updates is the Group Safety Overview. This will ensure that whenever someone adds you to a group without your knowledge and without being in your contact list, you will get a safety preview along with the details of the group. That means you can exit it silently. 
• Message Caution Alerts: Not just groups, WhatsApp is also testing new warning signs whenever a new person outside of your contact list messages you. This will provide you with time to think about whether you want to reply or not.