WhatsApp virus: what to do and how to defend yourself

Recognize a scam message

There are basically three types of scam messages that you could receive on WhatsApp that are, in order of danger: malicious, virus, phishing attempt. Let’s see in particular how to recognize them:

WhatsApp Bufale( Fake News )

There are hundreds of them, they are nothing but false news put on the net with the sole purpose of disinformation. They are often harmless if it is only a written message but can become extremely dangerous if they contain a link (a highlighted address to which you are asked to click) such as this:

Recognizing a malicious is quite simple, just a little ‘attention and common sense. Remember, in fact, that you can never win anything without participating in a competition, and the win will never be communicated on WhatsApp.

The same applies to “state announcements” such as those relating to alleged laws that come into force or to communications given by the Police. All these things are communicated through official channels, not on WhatsApp, not to you in particular. So avoid sharing any message to ” break the chain “.

However, if the message you received contains a link, do not click on the link, absolutely for any reason, even if you know the person who sent it to you. That person in fact, by mistake could have shared it to you thinking it’s a bargain. Here are some examples of WhatsApp hoax:

WhatsApp Message Virus

Even more dangerous than hoaxes, a WhatsApp Message Virus is essentially a message that makes you click on a link anyway. But always remember one thing: once clicked on a link, you will have done exactly their game and you will rarely get back!

The “links” in fact, are nothing more than addresses that take you on a Web page, any Web page that you can not know a priori. Once you arrive on that page everything can happen, and often viruses are installed that can damage your smartphone until it is irreparable!

Be careful especially while reading what is written on those links: sometimes they are written in confusion (and it is easier to pull back and not click), but often seems to go to a site apparently “reliable” because the link is specially modified to earn your trust, like this:

Beware especially when these links lead you to the installation of an application(even if from the Play Store/App Store) because once installed it will have access to many data of your smartphone such as: contact directory, gallery, account (perhaps with associated credit cards), messages and so on!

Therefore, the advice is once again not to click on any link, especially if you do not know the contact that sent it to you. But as mentioned, beware of clicking on links that have sent you friends or relatives, who may not be aware of all the dangers we have just listed.

Phishing WhatsApp

But the most dangerous of all are phishing attempts. These messages (which we remember once again, contain a link that will try to make you click ) are the most dangerous and often difficult to recognize.

The phishing is a practice whereby you try to make you go to a site (which you think is safe or that you think you know) then you enter: personal information, email addresses, and – very often – credit cards, bank details or similar.

Needless to say that you absolutely must not enter personal data (of any kind) on any site. Often, it happens that those who create a phishing attempt, however, try to trick you, for example by asking you to enter your Facebook credentials on a site that seems to be Facebook: as a result you will have “given” your credentials to someone.

But often you are asked to insert PayPal credentials or your credit card, perhaps to pay for the shipment of an item that ” you have won “, and so on and so forth! So pay attention to the site you are visiting by looking at the address well or making sure it is a site protected by the HTTPS standard.