According to research by WhatsApp, 59% of Brits say they or someone they know have received a message-based scam in the last year.*

And at Scams Action, we’ve seen more and more friend-in-need scams — where a scammer poses as someone you know to get you to give them money or asks you to forward a 6-digit PIN number. This includes a parent who received a WhatsApp message supposedly from their daughter saying they’d had to change their number. It went on to ask for help paying a bill but the parent was suspicious of the request and realised it was a scam.

Luckily, it’s easy to protect yourself from scams on WhatsApp.

We’re supporting WhatsApp’s campaign in partnership with National Trading Standards’ Friends Against Scams.

If you’ve received a suspicious or unusual message on WhatsApp — Stop, Think, Call.

Stop

Take a minute before you respond. Make sure your WhatsApp two-step verification is switched on to protect your account, that you’re happy with your privacy settings, and your six-digit pin is secure.

Think

Does the request make sense? Are they asking you to share a PIN code which has been sent to you? Are they asking for money? Remember that scammers prey on people’s kindness, trust and willingness to help.

Call

Verify that it is really your friend or family member by calling them directly, or asking them to share a voice note. Only when you’re 100% sure the request is from someone you know and trust, should you consider it.

WhatsApp is also working with comedian and TV personality Joel Dommett to help raise awareness of WhatsApp scams.

“As someone who has fallen victim to a scam myself, I know, personally, how stupid and embarrassed it makes you feel. It’s important that we do as much as we can to raise awareness of all the different ways that scammers out there prey on vulnerable people. Simply remembering to ‘Stop. Think. Call.’ when you get an unusual message may save you a lot of money and inconvenience in the long run.”

Where to get help

If you do fall victim to a WhatsApp scam, there are lots of places to get support.

You should report the scam to Action Fraud as soon as possible. And you can get one-to-one support from our Scams Action service. The Take five to stop fraud campaign has information and advice on a whole range of scams.

You can read more about the campaign on the Friends Against Scams website.

*WhatsApp / Opinium Research on 2,000 UK adults, October 2021