Beware of the new WhatsApp ‘scam’
WhatsApp users are warned to be alert of the latest ‘scam’ where users can end up paying R210 per month without even noticing.
Eliot Mahlase
Users of WhatsApp have been warned against a scam that could see them paying R210 per month without even noticing.
IT consultant Liron Segev from TheTechieGuy said users usually update their Whatsapp application at least once every three months and cyber criminals had picked up on the necessary upgrade.
Cyber criminals now send WhatsApp users an SMS with a link to upgrade the application, but the link redirects users to a different website.
“While in the website, users will assume that they are upgrading their WhatsApp, but in reality, they have unknowingly registered with a subscription service that costs R7 per day,” he said on his blog.
At the end of the month a user can be charged about R210 for just using WhatsApp.
It is alleged that users unknowingly subscribe for an app called Buddiechat.
Vodacom spokesperson Richard Boorman said the company had set up a crowd-sourcing “scams tab” on its Facebook page where people could post suspicious SMSs.
“The received information goes straight to our fraud and risk team who then investigate and block any numbers involved with scams. We also post the most recent scams so that people can see some of the common fraudulent SMSs doing the rounds,” Boorman said.
Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/Vodacom/app_311682605533427?ref=page_internal
Boorman said that the service provider would act against other service providers trying to circumvent the rules. This would include revoking the supplier’s access to the network and customers.
My Broadband issued the following tips to unsubscribe from a wireless application service provider (wasp) from Cell C, MTN, or Vodacom:
•Cell C: Dial *133*1#. Subscribers can block all existing and future content billing.
•MTN: Dial *141*5# and select which services to unsubscribe from.
•Vodacom: Vodacom users can unsubscribe from all Wasp services by sending “STOP ALL” to 30333.
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