Criminal scammers are increasingly targeting people with offers that seem too good to be true, often promising quick financial gains through investment schemes and pyramid operations. In response, WhatsApp has announced new measures to counteract these scams and shared recent updates on its enforcement efforts.
According to WhatsApp, organized scam centers, primarily based in Southeast Asia and sometimes involving forced labor, have become prolific sources of fraudulent activity. In the first half of this year, WhatsApp reported that it detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to such scam centers. The company stated that it was able to proactively identify and remove these accounts before they could be used for scams.
Scammers typically run multiple campaigns at once, including cryptocurrency investments and pyramid schemes. These scams often require victims to pay upfront fees with promises of returns or earnings. The process usually begins with a message—sometimes via text or dating apps—and then shifts across social media platforms, private messaging apps like WhatsApp, and eventually payment or cryptocurrency services. By moving between different platforms during a single scam operation, perpetrators make detection more difficult for any one service provider.
WhatsApp described a recent collaboration involving Meta and OpenAI that helped disrupt scams tied to a criminal center in Cambodia. "As an example, recently WhatsApp, Meta and our peers at OpenAI disrupted scams efforts which we were able to link to a criminal scam center in Cambodia. These attempts ranged from offering payments for fake likes to enlisting others into a rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme, or luring people to invest in cryptocurrency," the statement said. According to OpenAI’s findings referenced by WhatsApp, scammers used ChatGPT technology to craft initial messages containing links back to WhatsApp chats before steering targets toward Telegram for further instructions—such as liking videos on TikTok—and ultimately asking them for crypto deposits.
To help users recognize these threats and protect themselves online, WhatsApp partnered with internet safety expert Rachel Tobac: "How do you recognize these scams and stay safe? We partnered with internet safety expert and ethical hacker Rachel Tobac to share how scammers may target people – and how to avoid them."
The platform is also introducing new anti-scam features aimed at making users safer when interacting with unknown contacts or groups on the app. For group messaging scenarios where someone not in your contacts adds you unexpectedly: "We’re launching a new safety overview that we’ll show you when someone who is not in your contacts adds you to a new WhatsApp group you may not recognize." This overview will provide information about the group along with tips for staying safe; users can exit without viewing chat content if desired.
For individual messaging situations where contact may originate outside of WhatsApp: "Additionally, scammers may attempt to first initiate contact with you elsewhere on the internet before asking to message them on private messengers like WhatsApp. To protect against this tactic, we continue to test new approaches...showing you additional context about who you’re messaging so you can make an informed decision."
WhatsApp advises all users encountering unfamiliar requests—especially those promising easy money—to pause before responding or sending funds; question whether the request makes sense; and verify identities through alternate communication channels if necessary:
"We encourage you to pause, question, and verify before responding...especially if it’s from a number you don’t know promising fast money:
PAUSE: Take time before you respond...
QUESTION: Does this request make sense? Does it seem too good to be true?...These might be signs of a scam.
VERIFY: If they’re claiming to be a friend or family member...contact that friend directly – ideally using another method of communication..."