WhatsApp is a mobile messaging app for your smartphone that allows you to send text messages, photographs, videos and audio.  With more than a billion people using WhatsApp, it is not surprising that it has become attractive to scammers seeking to use its popularity to lure people into becoming scam victims.   I have reported to you for years about the various scams targeting WhatsApp users.    The most recent WhatsApp scam starts with a message that purports to be from WhatsApp offering an upgrade to a golden version of WhatsApp that it says will let you  make video calls, send up to a hundred pictures at one time and delete messages after you have sent them.   However, there is no golden version of WhatsApp and if you click on the link to upgrade your WhatsApp subscription you will end up downloading keystroke logging malware that can steal the information from your smartphone to be used to make you a victim of identity theft.

TIPS

Never click on a link in an email or text message until you have independently confirmed that it is legitimate.  The risk of downloading malware is too great.  Even if your computer or other electronic device is protected with anti-virus and anti-malware security software, the best security software is always at least thirty days behind the latest malware.  Trust me, you can’t trust anyone when it comes to clicking on links.  Even if the link is contained in a communication that appears to come from a person or company you trust, you should always verify that it is legitimate before clicking on the link.