Never, ever send money via WhatsApp after receiving a (random) request Yikes! This could've ended badly if it wasn't for his proactive friend.Īlways make sure you get in contact with the person 'in need' before paying anything They called John at his regular number, only to find out he was at home and just fine. John's family member was about to wire money, when his friend said something about this being a scam. John's relative called the unknown number and heard the recorded voice say: 'Hello, this is John. Please, please, can you send me $500 asap?' I'm stuck in Yosemite NP with little to no reception and need money for repatriation. The family member was asked for money via WhatsApp message: 'This is John. He tried to contact the number unknown to him, but there was no response.Ī day later John received a call from a relative, telling him that someone pretended to be him and had asked for money, because he was supposedly stuck and in real need. The phone rang again, and again, but nothing happened. When he hung up, he got a text message saying someone was trying to call him, but couldn't get through. When John received a call and heard nothing, he said, 'Hello, this is John. Later, it turned out that some of his family and friends had been asked for money with John's recorded voice! One person – we'll call him John, received a call from a stranger and heard nothing on the other end of the line. See what happens when they use a real voice. Even though this scam may be easy to spot and/or avoid, you'll be surprised how many people still fall prey to the scam. The scammer opens the conversation by explaining why he suddenly has a different number and a request for money quickly follows. They then create a WhatsApp account and starts 'apping' you.

The scammer searches online for details and profile picture of your family member or friend. In addition, there is always a real sense of urgency and the money must be transferred quickly. The scammers almost always ask for large amounts, usually $250 or more. Or, in a text message, your best friend claims to need money quickly to pay the utility bill before getting cut off. You know this one, it's the most common WhatsApp scam, where a trickster is posing as someone you know and asking for money.įor example, your cousin is supposedly way behind in rent and needs money urgently to avoid being evicted. Help me, please!' Good thing you can pretty easily avoid any of these scams. Imagine getting a message saying: 'Hi! This is your sister, stuck in Canada.

What is whatsapp used for scamming