A new scam is on the horizon for WhatsApp and this one is called Whatsapp Gold. According to the reports, Whatsapp users are getting messages to download the app’s premium version, Whatsapp Gold, which it claims was only available for celebrities before.
This new version supposedly allows users to send over a 100 pictures, have video calls and delete messages that have already been sent.
Of course, clicking on the link in the message leads users to a completely different website that automatically starts downloading a malicious software.
Though it is not clear how many people have been affected by it and if this scam is stealing personal data. But it is clear that the scam is hitting the users through a website and not an app. Since there is no app on Playstore called Whatspp Gold.
This is definitely not the first scam that has hit the messaging platform. The most famous scam that is still affecting many users is Whatsapp Plus which claims to allow users to send videos, pictures and audio files of unlimited sizes and also allows them to use Whatspp with more than one number. Of course, in reality, that does not happen.
But the Facebook-owned app has clearly stated that it does not have any connection with Whatsapp Plus app. In fact, the company bans people who have downloaded Whatspp Plus.
Talking about this widespread scam, the company said, “WhatsApp Plus is an application that was not developed by WhatsApp, nor is it authorised by WhatsApp. WhatsApp Plus contains source code which WhatsApp cannot guarantee as safe and that your private information is potentially being passed to 3rd parties without your knowledge or authorisation.”
People blocked for using Whatsapp Plus are not banned for forever. After 24 hours of installing the fake app, they are unbanned from Whatsapp.
The company has said over and over again that they will never contact users to upgrade the app or download any other third party app. In fact, Whatsapp has also mentioned that even if they do need to contact a user, they will do it through email.
If users do receive messages like that, Whatsapp urges them to block them and report them to the company.
Another way, would obviously be to only download apps that are verified by Google. When you go into the Google Playstore, you will see a blue mark next to the recommended and the verified apps.
While you will find that blue mark for Whatspp, it won’t be present on any other apps called ‘Whatsapp’.
For now, the Whatsapp Gold thing might just be a small scam, but phishing attempts like this could also lead to a major data breach. Whatsapp is doing everything it can to warn its users, but the users also need to take the security measures from their end.
