Meta introduces new tools to help identify scam messages on WhatsApp

2 hours ago 1

Meta introduces new tools to help identify scam messages on WhatsApp | Cartoon-style promo graphic with padlocks and a masked figure

It seems scarcely a week goes by now without receiving at least one job scam message on either iMessage or WhatsApp.

Meta has now introduced two new tools to help you identify scams, whether they arrive as individual messages or as posts to group chats …

Scams are big business

Scamming is big business these days, and it’s common for messages to originate from organized criminal gangs using huge banks of smartphones to send hundreds of thousands of messages per day.

Meta has teams of people trying to detect and block these, and gave the example of a scheme it recently shut down in Cambodia.

WhatsApp, Meta and our peers at OpenAI disrupted scams efforts which we were able to link to a criminal scam center in Cambodia. These attempts ranged from offering payments for fake likes to enlisting others into a rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme, or luring people to invest in cryptocurrency. As OpenAI reported, the scammers used ChatGPT to generate the initial text message containing a link to a WhatsApp chat, and then quickly directed the target to Telegram where they were assigned a task of liking videos on TikTok. The scammers attempted to build trust in their scheme by sharing how much the target has already ‘earned’ in theory, before asking them to deposit money into a crypto account as the next task.

The supposed crypto account was, of course, fake.

Meta says it is rolling out two new tools intended to help WhatsApp users think before they respond.

Group messaging: We’re launching a new safety overview that we’ll show you when someone who is not in your contacts adds you to a new WhatsApp group you may not recognize. It will include key information about the group and tips to stay safe. From there, you can exit the group without ever having to look at the chat. And if you think you might recognize the group after seeing the safety overview, you can choose to see the chat for more context. Regardless, notifications from the group will be silenced until you mark that you want to stay.

Individual messaging: Additionally, scammers may attempt to first initiate contact with you elsewhere on the internet before asking to message them on private messengers like WhatsApp. To protect against this tactic, we continue to test new approaches to alerting people to pause before engaging. For example, we’re exploring ways to caution you when you start a chat with someone not in your contacts by showing you additional context about who you’re messaging so you can make an informed decision.

The company also advocates a pause, question, and verify approach.

PAUSE: Take time before you respond. Think about whether this is a number you recognize, or whether it reads like a legitimate ask.
QUESTION: Does this request make sense? Does it seem too good to be true? Are they asking you to send money, gift cards or PIN codes? Are they offering unrealistically high pay for a few hours of work? Are they rushing you into taking action? These might be signs of a scam.
VERIFY: If they’re claiming to be a friend or family member, make sure that they are who they say they are by contacting that friend directly – ideally using another method of communication. For example, if they messaged you on WhatsApp, call them on their phone – or if they sent you an SMS, give them a WhatsApp call using the phone number you know is theirs.