WhatsApp users in Gedling borough are being warned about a spoof texts and emails that claims “their subscription is ending soon” – but it’s a scam to steal bank details.
Scam-busters Action Fraud say that the texts and emails encourage users who receive the message to click on a link to verify their account and then purchase lifetime subscription for 99p. The link takes the victim to a screen that then asks them to submit their bank details, which can be used by fraudsters to take funds out of the account.
Long term users of WhatsApp will remember paying a 0.99p annual fee to use the messaging service. In 2016, this was scrapped by Facebook who took over running of the company after buying it for £11.4bn.
Now scammers hope that those who remember paying a 99p fee could be duped into believing the service has gone back to a subscription model and submit their bank details.
This isnt the first scam of its kind to attempt to trick WhatsApp users. Last year users were being tricked into downloading a fake ‘gold’ version of WhatsApp which infected Android devices with malware.
