Meta has introduced new safety updates for WhatsApp, including tools to block scam attempts, insights into criminal scam operations, and practical tips to help users stay protected.
New Anti-Scam Features on WhatsApp
WhatsApp now offers new protections to help users avoid scams:
- Group Safety Prompts: If someone unknown adds you to a group, WhatsApp displays a safety prompt with information about the group and safety tips. You can choose to leave immediately or stay and view more context. Notifications remain muted until you decide to stay.
- Alerts for Unknown Contacts: To protect users from scammers who initiate contact on other apps before moving to WhatsApp, the platform is introducing alerts when messaging unknown contacts, providing helpful context.
Understanding Multi-Platform Scam Tactics
The company highlights that scammers operate across multiple platforms. Their approach often starts on SMS or dating apps, then shifts to WhatsApp or Telegram, and finally directs users to payment or cryptocurrency sites. WhatsApp’s new alerts help users recognize this pattern and pause before responding.
Pause, Question, Verify: Scam Prevention Tips
Meta advises users to:
- Pause before replying to unknown messages.
- Question requests that seem unusual, urgent, or involve money, gift cards, or PINs.
- Verify the sender’s identity by contacting them through a different method if they claim to be someone you know.
These steps help users detect common scam tactics such as impersonation and false promises of quick money.
Enforcement and Collaboration Against Scam Centers
In the first half of 2025, WhatsApp banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to organized scam centers, many operating in Southeast Asia and connected to forced labor. These bans often occurred before the accounts could be used fraudulently.
Meta recently partnered with WhatsApp, OpenAI, and cybersecurity expert Rachel Tobac to disrupt a scam campaign tied to a criminal center in Cambodia. This scheme used ChatGPT-generated messages directing victims from WhatsApp to Telegram, where they were asked to perform tasks like liking TikTok videos before being pressured to deposit cryptocurrency.
Availability
The new WhatsApp safety features are rolling out globally through app updates on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Users may see these features appear over the coming days.