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 an email reproduced below that appears to be from WhatsApp requiring you to click on a link to receive a message. DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK.   Although it looks legitimate, it is a scam with the first indication of this being the email address sending the message is an address that has nothing to do with WhatsApp.  Most likely it is from an innocent victim whose computer has been hacked and made a part of a botnet to send out malware.   If you click on the link 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.