WhatsApp scams: the six to know
Most WhatsApp scams start with a message from a number you don’t know: a wrong number, a relative on a “new phone”, a job offer or an investment group. They all end the same way, with a request for money, a code or a click. Here’s how each one works.
1. The “wrong number” that turns into a friendship
It opens with “Hi, is this Mark?” or a message about a dinner booking. When you say it’s the wrong number, they apologise, stay friendly and keep chatting for days or weeks.
Then come the photos, the lifestyle and the hint that they’ve made money trading crypto. The goal is to get you onto a fake trading site where your “profits” grow until you try to withdraw. The full playbook is on the wrong number text scam page.
2. “Hi Mum, this is my new number”
Someone claims to be your child or another relative who lost or broke their phone. Within a few messages there’s an urgent bill they can’t pay from the new phone.
Call the old number, or ask something only they would know, before you send anything. A real relative won’t mind.
3. Task jobs that pay you to like videos
A “recruiter” offers easy money for liking videos or rating products. The first payments are real and small. Then you’re asked to pay in to unlock bigger “tasks”, and that money never comes back.
4. Investment groups and crypto “mentors”
You’re added to a group full of members posting screenshots of their wins. Most members are the scammers’ own accounts, and the “mentor” profile photo is usually borrowed from a real trader or influencer.
5. The six-digit code request
A message, sometimes from a friend’s hacked account, asks you to forward a code that “was sent to you by mistake”. That code is WhatsApp’s registration code: share it and they can take over your account and message your contacts.
Never share a WhatsApp code, and turn on two-step verification in Settings › Account so a stolen code isn’t enough.
6. Romance that never leaves the chat
A new match from a dating app asks to move to WhatsApp quickly, then can never video call. Sooner or later there’s an emergency, a customs fee or a flight they need help with. The romance scam check covers the signs.
How to tell if a WhatsApp message is a scam
- The number is unknown, often from another country, and the profile photo looks like a model’s.
- They’re friendly, patient and in no hurry, until money comes up.
- They want you to move to another app, site or group.
- There’s a reason they can’t call or video chat.
- They ask for a code, a gift card, crypto or a transfer to a third person.
What to do if you’ve been targeted
- Stop replying, and don’t send money, codes or documents.
- Report and block: open the chat, tap the contact’s name, then Report.
- If you paid, call your bank or card issuer right away.
- In the US, report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov and, for losses, at ic3.gov.
- Warn your contacts if your own account was taken over.