WhatsApp is rolling out new features to help protect people from known scam tactics. With the rise in online scams and cyber frauds, including the new-age 'digital arrest' scams, WhatsApp is releasing new anti-scam tools to help prevent users from falling pray to these unruly tactics and losing money. New features include 'Safety Overview' when an unknown person adds you to a group and cautionary alerts when initiating conversation with an unknown individual. WhatsApp is testing new approaches to alert people to pause before engaging.
The new 'safety overview' feature will pop-up in WhatsApp when someone who is not in your contacts adds you to a new WhatsApp group you may not recognize. This 'Safety Overview' featyre will show you key information about the group and tips to stay safe. By introducing this new additional warning, WhatsApp gives you the opportunity to exit the group without ever having to look at the chat. WhatsApp adds, "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."
This is a great feature for all novice users who are often trapped into unwanted groups and are lured through attractive tactics to invest in scam schemes.
Scammers may also attempt to first initiate contact with you elsewhere on the internet before asking to message them on 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 said in a statement.
WhatsApp says that it detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers. Furthermore, the company urges its users to pause, question, and verify, before responding to a suspicious or unusual message, especially if it’s from a number you don’t know promising fast money.
