It was recently reported by many WhatsApp users that they are getting spam calls on WhatsApp from international numbers. These numbers were from Indonesia (+62), Vietnam (+84), Malaysia (+60), Kenya (+254), and Ethiopia (+251).
The IT Minister further said that the government will respond to every alleged misuse or alleged breach of privacy. He revealed that the government is mulling over the guidelines for preloaded apps. WhatsApp or any other platform needs to pay attention if they are witnessing any issue of spam.
One of the major questions that the minister brought up was how these scammers are getting access to WhatsApp numbers. In a statement to PTI, he said, “How are they able to identify which numbers are on WhatsApp… are they doing it blindly?… is it some database they have got? If there is a database it is a violation of privacy, or if not are they are doing it through a bot… sending messages to random numbers… But that is certainly something platforms will be asked to look at.”
WhatsApp’s response to international calls spam
Protecting the privacy and security of users is fundamental to Meta and to WhatsApp. Our users are at the heart of everything we do and we are fully aligned with the Government’s goal of keeping users safe. WhatsApp is a leader among end-to-end encrypted services in protecting user safety.
We continue to provide several safety tools within WhatsApp like Block & Report, consistently build user safety education and awareness, as well as, proactively weed out bad-actors from our platform. However, bad actors find different ways to scam users. International scam calls is a new way that bad actors have recently adopted. By giving a missed call, they lead curious users to call or message back only to get scammed
WhatsApp two important tips for users :
WhatsApp has suggested two important things that users can do to tackle these fake calls and stay safe , these include
- BLOCK SUCH NUMBERS
- REPORT THESE NUMBERS TO WHATSAPP
Blocking and reporting suspicious messages/calls is an important step to effectively combat scams and when users receive calls from unknown international and domestic phone numbers WhatsApp provides a convenient way to block and report suspicious accounts. Its important to report these accounts to report these accounts to WhatsApp so that we can take the required action against them and ban from the platform . users can also control who sees their personal details and their personal online presence by using our privacy controls . keeping your personal details visible to only your contacts can help safeguard your account against bad actors’ .
By
VEERA MANIKANTA UPPUDI
