From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
WhatsApp has introduced new safety features to help users detect and avoid scams in group and individual chats, announcing that it banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to criminal scam centres targeting people globally.
The Meta-owned messaging platform said these tools are designed to provide users with more context before engaging, particularly when added to unfamiliar groups or starting conversations with unknown contacts. It also disclosed a coordinated enforcement action with OpenAI that disrupted a fraud network traced to Cambodia.
“In the first six months of this year, as part of our ongoing proactive work to protect people from scams, WhatsApp detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centres,” the company stated.
For group chats, WhatsApp now displays a safety overview when someone outside a user’s contacts adds them to an unrecognised group. The overview indicates whether the person who added them is in their contacts, whether other members are known, and provides tips to stay safe. Users can open the chat for more context, but notifications from the group remain muted until they choose to stay.
This feature aims to curb surprise additions to large or malicious groups and prevent the spread of fraudulent links through mass invitations.
For individual chats, scammers often initiate conversations on other platforms before moving targets to private messaging. To counter this, WhatsApp is testing ways to provide more context when users start a chat with someone not in their address book, giving them time to assess the contact’s legitimacy before responding.
The collaboration with OpenAI revealed that fraudsters used ChatGPT to craft initial outreach messages, luring victims into WhatsApp chats before directing them to platforms like Telegram to finalise scams. These schemes included fake earnings tasks, pyramid-style rent-a-scooter offers, and cryptocurrency investment ruses. Fraudsters often built trust with fabricated earnings before pressuring victims to transfer funds into crypto accounts, escalating from low-risk tasks to real financial transactions.
WhatsApp urged users to review messages carefully before responding, question requests that pressure quick action, and verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a friend or family member through another channel.
The company said the new contextual prompts aim to make spotting red flags easier and reinforce safe behaviour. The tools are being rolled out gradually as testing continues, with adjustments expected based on user feedback and evolving scam tactics.
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