WhatsApp: Be careful with the message “Hello, are you Marcus?”

• Company profiles are apparently misused for spam messages on WhatsApp.
• If an unknown number writes you a suspicious message, you should exercise caution and block the contact to be on the safe side.

Company accounts with WhatsApp Business are a great way for companies and the self-employed to have direct contact with customers. However, as with any good idea, there are people who seem to have something else in mind. Cybercriminals could also contact you through company profiles, as in this highly suspicious message currently popping up on WhatsApp.

If an unknown number texts you just like that, you should always exercise caution. In this case, a female person writes to you who, judging by the profile description, belongs to a clothing company. But your first message has nothing to do with such a deal.

Instead of a greeting or anything that might indicate an advertisement, she writes “Hello, are you Marcus?”. A little later, another number with the same name and photo writes the same message. Alarm bells should ring then.

Very few funny messages turn out to be likely to be harmless. Messages of this kind could gain your trust with love bombing or other means. Of course, the first message could also be followed by a link to a fake sweepstakes or something similar.

Also interesting…

You can protect yourself by blocking and not responding to suspicious messages from people you do not know. WhatsApp can also be set so that your number cannot be easily read by others. You should also report the profile in question.