Alleged appeal for donations Don't fall for this seemingly affectionate WhatsApp trick
A heart-warming message about a girl who loves to dance turns out to be a new, sophisticated scam on WhatsApp. Consumer protection experts warn of the perfidious phishing attempt.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The consumer advice center is currently warning of a new WhatsApp scam.
- It involves an emotional chain letter with the story of a dancing girl.
- The scammers use fake links and images to gain trust and direct users to dubious ".live" domains.
A message is currently circulating on WhatsApp that is spreading rapidly. It shows a picture of a girl called Marielis, supposedly the daughter of friends, who urgently needs votes to study for free. Clicking on a link sent with the message is supposed to help raise money. But what looks like an act of charity is in fact an elaborate scam.
Chain letters as bait
The Austrian consumer protection portal Mimikama revealed the details of the scam. The chain letter, often with emotional images, suggests urgency and a personal connection.
There is no real person behind the touching story. Instead, the link leads to a ".live" domain, which is notoriously used for fraudulent activities. The photo used comes from a royalty-free stock database.
Online research revealed that neither "Star Dance Alliance" nor other reputable dance competitions use such voting systems or award study places via WhatsApp chain messages. "Chain letters use the so-called pyramid scheme and quickly achieve a wide reach by being shared with a constantly growing number of contacts," explains the consumer advice center. The perpetrators use pitiful stories to generate masses of clicks.
Why WhatsApp? Trust as a gateway
The fact that WhatsApp is once again being used for attempted fraud is no coincidence. An analysis by IT security company Kaspersky shows that WhatsApp accounts for almost 90 percent of all phishing attacks. The reason is simple: fraudsters abuse the trust that users have in their own contacts. The simple forwarding function also makes it very easy to spread manipulative content millions of times over.
The ideal way to protect yourself from WhatsApp scams
- Do not click on links or download attachments for unknown or suspicious messages. Malware is often installed unnoticed.
- Never disclose personal data if you are asked to do so.
- If you are asked to forward the message to your contacts, delete it immediately and ignore the request.
- Never reply to such messages.
- Do not transfer money to unknown accounts under any circumstances, not even to supposed donation accounts.
- If you are threatened in a chain letter, report it to the police.
- Block unknown or suspicious senders and report the incident to the messenger service.
- If you know the supposed sender, contact the person by phone to verify the authenticity of the message.
