Try WhatsApp Calling; a new social engineering scam propagated on WhatsApp Users

Be Alert WhatsApp Users . . .

Try WhatsApp Calling; a new social engineering scam propagated on WhatsApp Users

If you are a WhatsApp user, dont fall for the ‘Try WhatsApp Calling’ hoax message

If you receive a message from your friend, which states, ’Hey, I am inviting you to try whatsapp Calling click here to activate now—> http://WhatsappCalling(.)com’ beware its a scam

WhatsApp has started its WhatsApp Calling feature which allows WhatsApp users to call their friends and near and dear ones over the instant messaging App through VoIP.

The program itself is in beta stage and WhatsApp is selectively inviting random users to try out the Voice over Internet call feature though the latest version of WhatsApp supports such calling option. WhatsApp developers are monitoring the call quality, encryption, security and data rates that are needed to enable the feature to the masses.

In case you wondered how the invite could come to you, in order to enable the calling feature on WhatsApp, you need to get an invite from friend who has this feature enabled. WhatsApp has limited the number of people who can use the feature, as this is only in test mode. -Once he/she calls you over the WhatsApp voice calling feature, your WhatsApp will show voice calling as enabled.

However due to the hype it has created, there are several con artists and scammers ready to take this unique opportunity to scam you or infect your smartphone with malware.  Such hoax messages are seen doing rounds not only on WhatsApp but also Twitter and Facebook and are being sent by the scamsters to the ignorant user.

The hoax message states that he/she is invited to try the WhatsApp Calling feature and can enable it by sending an invite to 10 more people. Once you have sent it to 10 friends, the ‘Continue’ button is active and you can enable the Calling feature.

This is where the scam starts. Once the victim clicks on the ‘Continue’ button, a website opens up, taking the victim to a site which needs you to take a survey. The survey forces the victim to download apps and software, which is needed for completion of the survey.

If the victim persist with downloading the malware laden Apps and software, he/she will be doing this in continuous loop because at the end of it all, there is no such WhatsApp Calling feature available for the user.

However, the scammers mint money by making the victim undergo surveys, click on ads, download unwanted Apps and further there may be a chance that these apps contain malware which could cause harm to victims smartphone and risk his/her privacy or personal information.

If you receive a message from your friend, which states, ’Hey, I am inviting you to try whatsapp Calling click here to activate now—> http://WhatsappCalling(.)com’, don’t fall for it. You are just being scammed to become a vector for a huge scam ring.