Millions of people in India use WhatsApp every day. It has become the most popular app for sending messages, making video calls and sharing important information. However, as its use has increased rapidly, incidents of cyber fraud have also increased. Scammers are now targeting people through WhatsApp by luring them with schemes like fake jobs, false rewards, bank updates and investment offers. You can easily protect yourself by keeping some important things in mind.
**Do not immediately trust messages from unknown numbers**
If you receive any message from an unknown number about a job, reward or special offer, be alert. Scammers often start with casual conversation and gradually ask for money or personal information. Instead of responding to such numbers, it is better to block and report them.
Many fake links found on WhatsApp look exactly like real websites. They may take the form of banks, government portals, delivery companies or other popular platforms. If a link asks you to log in, update your KYC or do something urgent, click on it immediately, don’t be in a hurry; First check its authenticity.
**Never share OTP or your screen**
If someone asks for OTP on WhatsApp, consider it an attempt to fraud. Banks, government departments and trusted institutions never ask for OTP. Similarly, you should not share your mobile screen when asked by a stranger. By doing this they can access your personal information, banking apps and other sensitive data.
**Be careful of messages coming from family members**
Scammers are targeting people by posing as family members. Using the new number, they claim to be a son, daughter, sibling or relative and ask for money immediately citing some important matter or emergency. In such cases, confirm the situation by calling the person’s real, known number before sending the money.
**Use WhatsApp security settings**
WhatsApp offers many features that can increase your security. Go to the app’s privacy settings and limit your profile photo, status, and ‘last seen’ to only your contacts. Also, turn on the ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ feature so that calls from unknown numbers do not disturb you. Also, don’t forget to turn on two-step verification to add an extra layer of security to your account.
Report suspicious messages immediately. If you receive a fake or suspicious message, report it instead of ignoring it. To do this, open the chat, tap on the contact’s name at the top, scroll down and select the ‘Report’ and ‘Block’ options. This allows WhatsApp to take action against such accounts and helps protect other users from fraud. Remember, cyber fraudsters often take advantage of haste. Please think carefully and verify the information before relying on any message, link or offer. This small precaution can save you from big losses.
