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WhatsApp – the world’s most popular instant messaging service – has over 1.3 billion monthly active users.
The messaging service is widely used by people in the UK as a free way of sending messages without using from your mobile subscription.
The dark side of this is that is is the perfect target for fraudsters looking to con a large amount of people out of money.
Recently there have been reports of users receiving messages from a number claiming to be WhatsApp.
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The message reads: “Your WhatsApp subscription has expired. To verify your account and purchase a lifetime subscription for just 0.99 GBP tap on this link.”
Before Facebook took over WhatsApp in 2016 this was the price of the service.
Some users have also reported receiving emails or messages within the app itself.
However, it is important to keep in mind that this is a scam and does not come from WhatsApp.
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“Whilst late adopters of the service might look at the email and simply brush it off, long term users will remember paying and could quite easily think the app has gone back to its subscription model and get caught out”
ActionFraud
What should you do if you receive the message?
Once a person clicks the link within the message, they are transferred to a site asking them to enter account details and payment information.
According to ActionFraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre, the message should be deleted straight away without clicking the links.
It has also asked anyone affected to report it to them by calling 0300 123 2040 or using its online fraud reporting tool.
The website said: “Whilst late adopters of the service might look at the email and simply brush it off, long term users will remember paying and could quite easily think the app has gone back to its subscription model and get caught out.
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“The emails claim your “subscription will be ending soon” and are after your banking information. We have been getting an increasing number of reports about them.
“Fraudsters have released this is a clever way to dupe people… We warned people about the same style of WhatsApp subscription message being sent by text.”
However, if you were unlucky enough to click the link, you should run antivirus software to ensure there is no malware on your phone or computer.
If you handed over your bank details you should contact the bank’s fraud team immediately.
ActionFraud also warns that you may receive scam messages claiming to be from your contacts.
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The website says:”If you’ve received spam from a contact, delete the message and do not click on any links or provide personal information.
“Tell the contact that the message they sent includes spam and point them to the WhatsApp safety page.”
Last year a similar scam was circulating, where users were tricked into downloading a fake “gold” version of WhatsApp.
This consequently infected Android devices with malware.