Strange WhatsApp Scam: What to do when you receive a message from a strange number

Recently, criminals are developing new strategies for deception through social networks. By adapting to new generations, they use ingenuity to obtain personal data and thus are able to Access to bank accounts. In this way, one of the popular methods in recent months is through WhatsApp messages.

The leakage of phone numbers through online data sales is what results Exposure of defenseless people To a scam. Among the different types of fraud, the most common is fraud through identity theft and sending convincing messages to obtain sensitive information.

You may be interested in: Police warn of 'The Boss's Call' scam: the new way to steal money from your bank account

These are presented in different ways. One of them is impersonation Someone close needs help. Through the messages, it is believed that he is a son, father, mother, cousin, or any related person, and is in a sensitive situation. They usually say they have lost their mobile phone and are writing from a friend's phone with the aim of sending money to a stranger's account or accessing a fraudulent link.

On the other hand, you can also contact us via message with your suggestion The most attractive job offer. They promise a large amount of easy money, and ask for bank details or personal documents to access important information, although they may also suggest registering on a website to extract the information.

Other common scams are usually a fake winning giveaway, Impersonating a company or public administration, Fake call from the bank, or The code or link has been sent. The latter is intended to gain access to the personal Whatsapp of the phone number. They contact you to make you believe that the code was sent to your phone by mistake and that they need to know it in order to access your account. However, through this tactic they get the number and access code to the app.

The first thing to keep in mind is always that Should not be trusted Through social media. It is easy to find out what type of person is calling us, since you can first search for the corresponding prefix on the Internet, and thus find out which part of the world is calling us. Once you know this information, and in the case of Spain (+34), you must search for the phone number through the Google search engine.

You may be interested in: “They just stole 500 euros from me”: They warn of a WhatsApp scam that impersonates your relatives to steal money with Bizum

There are many sites that let you find out If it is a profile that usually connects fraudulently Or if it is suspicious to people, or if it is a phone belonging to a public institution or administration. However, even if it is the latter case, you should never share any kind of personal information, as they can hack databases and contact you through your own phones.

The wisest thing in this case is Not responding to the message and reporting the number via WhatsApp. This way, the website will investigate and may block the contact so that it can no longer operate. To do this, simply go to the contact options by clicking on the photo and name at the top. Once you are in, you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the option “Report to”. In addition, there is also the option to block the contact through the mobile phone call book, in case a scam is carried out through calls or messages.