WhatsApp scams are on the rise. Messenger and the police tell you how you can make your account more secure and when you should be particularly careful.
There are two situations in particular that you should be on your guard with WhatsApp. (Source: netzwelt)
- Cyber criminals also romp around on WhatsApp.
- Messenger offers many protection mechanisms.
- WhatsApp is working with the police to provide information on this.
WhatsApp not only keeps you in touch with friends and relatives around the world. You also run the risk of being embroiled in a chat with cybercriminals. WhatsApp has therefore been working with the police crime prevention departments of the federal states and the federal government since September 2021 to jointly raise awareness of security prevention measures.
This should enable people to better protect themselves and their WhatsApp accounts from potential scammers. This usually only requires a few hand movements. Harald Schmidt, Managing Director of the State and Federal Police Crime Prevention Service, reveals which ones in an interview with Netzwelt.
Always verify unknown contacts
According to Schmidt, caution is particularly important if you are contacted by an unknown number. With these scams, the criminals pretend that you are chatting with a close relative or friend who has a new number and is in an emergency situation from which you should help him by transferring an amount of between 1,500 and 2,500 euros.
“Whenever money demands come up, you should be suspicious,” says Schmidt. In this case, he advises verifying whether the person is really the contact they claim to be, for example by asking the contact to send you a voice message or by calling the old number and checking whether it really is not more is available.
Never share code
Another popular scam is WhatsApp account takeover. In addition to your phone number, the criminals also need a code that will be sent to you by SMS. They try to elicit this from you with various tricks. Therefore, according to Schmidt: “The code that you get when you set up WhatsApp must never be passed on.” Schmidt also advises turning on two-factor authentication for WhatsApp. This protects your account from being taken over by an additional PIN.
In order not to be quickly targeted by criminals, the detective also advises data economy: “Nowadays personal data can be bought everywhere, you don’t even have to go to the Darknet for that. So you should ask yourself, do I have to take part in every competition? Do I have to be in the phone book with your full name?”
The subject of “data economy” also applies to WhatsApp. According to Schmidt, you should specify in the settings that your profile picture is only visible to your contacts. In this way you prevent the theft of the photo and its improper use.
Fallen for a scam? Then definitely go to the police
If you’ve been caught in a scam, be sure to report the incident to your local police station. It is true that the chances that the perpetrators will be identified are rather small, because the criminals use many tricks to cover up their tracks. Nevertheless, according to a number of reasons, an ad makes sense.
Also interesting…
“We can only investigate and provide a picture of the situation that we become aware of,” says Harald Schmidt. With your report you help the police to warn others about new popular scams.
According to Schmidt, the ad is also good for drawing a “line”. In his experience, this helps many victims to process what they have experienced. In principle, you also protect claims for compensation with a complaint if negotiations are successful.
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