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How to Avoid WhatsApp Viruses, Scams and Hoaxes

How to Avoid WhatsApp Viruses, Scams and Hoaxes

January 18, 2016

WhatsApp scams are going around and this last one could be the most dangerous yet to unwitting users. Prevent these scam artists from threatening you to download a virus to your phone by detecting some of the WhatsApp scams that you need to delete and forget right now.

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WhatsApp virus – how to avoid WhatsApp virus

The latest WhatsApp scam isn’t delivered by WhatsApp itself but through your email app on your Android phone or iPhone. It tells you that you have missed a WhatsApp call or have a WhatsApp voice message, which you should click on the link in the email to access. Rather than your message, you get a virus downloaded to your device.

Please don’t be fooled. WhatsApp will never contact you outside the WhatsApp app itself, so if you see this then do not click the link and delete the message.

WhatsApp chain message hoaxes – Is WhatsApp closing down?

One WhatsApp hoax that regularly does the rounds is that which asks you to forward the message to 10 people or the service will close down.

WhatsApp has millions of users, and it really won’t notice you sending 10 messages through the service. It is not about to close down, and this is very much a hoax.

Another variation suggests there are too many WhatsApp users, and it will close your account if you don’t start using it.

The chain message reads: Message from Jim Balsamic (CEO of Whatsapp). We have had an over usage of user names on WhatsApp Messenger. We are requesting all users to forward this message to their entire contact list.

“If you do not forward this message, we will take it as your account is invalid and it will be deleted within the next 48 hours. Please DO NOT ignore this message or WhatsApp will no longer recognise your activation.”

If you don’t act in time, WhatsApp will apparently charge you £25 to reactivate your account, which will be added to your phone bill.

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WhatsApp chain message hoaxes – Is WhatsApp going to start charging inactive users?

By far the most popular WhatsApp hoax is that which suggests the service will start charging inactive users a certain amount per message, so by sending the message on to 10 users they can prove they are an active member and loyal to WhatsApp, and therefore deserving of its free service.

Really? Ask yourself how sending that message you don’t pay for to 10 people could possibly keep open the company if it was that desperate for cash?

One variation of this message claims to come from the app’s founder, “David D. Suretech”. Never mind that Brian Acton and Jan Koum are the actual founders of WhatsApp.

It reads: ”Hello, I. Am DAVID D. SURETECH founder of Whatsapp. this message is to inform all of our users that we have only 53million accounts available for new phones. Our servers have recently been very congested, so we asking for your help to solve this problem. We need our active users to forward this message to every single person in their contact list in order to confirm our active users that use WhatsApp. If you do not send this message to all your contacts to WhatsApp, then your account will remain inactive with the consequence of losing all your contacts. The automatic update symbol on your SmartPhone Will appear with the transmission of this message. Your smartphone will be updated within 24 hours, and will feature a new design; a new color for the chat and the icon will change from green to azul. Whatsapp will begin to charge unless you are a frequent user. If you have at least 10 contacts send this sms and the logo will become red on your platform to indicate that you are an active user.

Tomorrow, we wil begin to take messages for whatsapp for 0.37 cents. Forward this message to more than 9 people in your contact list and the what’s app logo on your will turn blue meaning that you have Become a free user for life.”

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WhatsApp’s response to all such scams is as follows: “Please understand that this is a hoax and there is no truth to it.”

Many people wrongly think that WhatsApp is a free service because it is free for the first year. But eventually it will start charging you, no matter how many hoax messages you forward on to your friends.
The difference between reality and what these WhatsApp scams will tell you is that WhatsApp charges a one-off annual fee, and it does not charge users per message.
The annual fee for WhatsApp is $0.99, which is around 69p. You will not be charged any more than this for using the service, and you don’t need to do anything to make sure it keeps going. Trust us: WhatsApp is not short on users.

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Original article courtesy of PC Advisor. Photo credit: iTechKeys.