Louise Baxter, Head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team and Friends Against ScamsĪccording to recent research from WhatsApp, three-fifths (60%) of those surveyed believe that email is the most common platform on which scams happen, followed by phone call (47%), text message (46%) and WhatsApp (17% ). These kinds of scams are particularly cruel as they prey on our kindness and desire to help friends and family.” The messages are sent from the compromised accounts of your friends, so they look as if they’re coming from someone you know, or from an unknown number claiming to be a friend who has lost their phone or been ‘locked out’ of their account. Scammers send messages that appear to come from a friend or family member asking for personal information, money, or a six-digit PIN number. “We are seeing an increasing number of reports of ‘friend-in-need’ scams in recent months. Call.’ when you get an unusual message may save you a lot of money and inconvenience in the long run.” It’s important that we do as much as we can to raise awareness of all the different ways that scammers out there prey on vulnerable people. “As someone who has fallen victim to a scam myself, I know, personally, how stupid and embarrassed it makes you feel. If it turns out to be untrue, report It to Action Fraud. Only when you’re 100% sure the request is from someone you know and trust, should you consider it. CALL: Verify that it really is your friend or family member by calling them directly, or asking them to share a voice note.THINK: Does this request make sense? Are they asking you to share a PIN code which they have had sent to you? Are they asking for money? Remember that scammers prey on people’s kindness, trust and willingness to help.M ake sure your WhatsApp two-step verification is switched on to protect your account, that you’re happy with your privacy settings, and your six-digit pin is secure. before they respond to a suspicious or unusual message.
WhatsApp, Friends Against Scams and Joel Dommett a re calling on the British public to STOP. WhatsApp wants to make sure that people understand how they can protect themselves, we have enlisted “Scambassador” Joel Dommett, once a victim of a scam himself, to help share some simple advice that can keep people safe. According to recent research, these types of scam messages have been sent both via SMS text message (46%), or WhatsApp (13%), and unfortunately appear to be increasingly common. The campaign aims to help educate the public on how to protect themselves and their WhatsApp account from message-based scams.Īlmost three-fifths of Brits (59%) say they have received a message-based scam in the last year or know someone who has. CALL., in partnership with the National Trading Standards’ Friends Against Scams.
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