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WhatsApp bolsters security with new anti-scam features
WhatsApp is also tackling a scam tactic where bad actors start conversations on other platforms and then move to WhatsApp for more personalized attacks
When a user is added to a new group by someone not in their contacts, a summary screen will appear before they even join the conversation. This overview provides details on the person who added them and whether any existing group members are in their address book. To prevent immediate spam or phishing attacks, notifications from the new group will be muted until the user chooses to actively join.
WhatsApp is intensifying its battle against scams with a new suite of safety features designed to help users identify suspicious activity. The Meta-owned messaging giant recently announced it has already banned over 6.8 million accounts tied to global scam networks, highlighting the widespread nature of the problem.
One of the key updates is a new safety overview for group chats. When a user is added to a new group by someone not in their contacts, a summary screen will appear before they even join the conversation. This overview provides details on the person who added them and whether any existing group members are in their address book. To prevent immediate spam or phishing attacks, notifications from the new group will be muted until the user chooses to actively join.
WhatsApp is also tackling a scam tactic where bad actors start conversations on other platforms and then move to WhatsApp for more personalized attacks. To combat this, the platform is testing new alerts for individual chats. These alerts will pop up when a user is about to start a conversation with an unknown person, providing additional context and prompting users to verify the identity of the sender before continuing.
These new proactive features represent a significant shift in WhatsApp's strategy to prevent fraud. While end-to-end encryption and user privacy remain core to the platform, these in-app interventions are crucial steps in protecting its massive global user base from increasingly sophisticated scams.
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