If you don't recognize the phone number messaging you, you are likely at risk of becoming the victim of a scammer.Īnother way to recognize a scam on WhatsApp is that the scammer always seems to be in a rush and expresses the urgency of the request in the messages. The most telling of these signs is that the messages are coming from an unknown number. How can I recognize a scam on WhatsApp?Įven though scammers try very hard to exploit the urgency of their request to complete their crime before realizing what is really going on, several common identifiers let you know something might be amiss.

The sense of urgency they inject into their request is meant to make their victim act without thinking twice about the scam, which leads people to send money to the scammers and then realize they've been victimized. The most common one is when the scammer pretends to be a friend or family member of their victim and, simulating a sense of urgency, will ask for money for anything from paying an emergency bill to bail or ransom money. There are different ways in which people fall prey to scammers on WhatsApp. Let's take a look at a few different ways people try to scam others on WhatsApp and how you can report them if you ever stumble onto one of them. Because of this, it has become a breeding ground for scammers who take advantage of its features to cheat people out of thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps globally, with an estimated 2 billion users.

Reporting whatsapp scams