WhatsApp has highlighted five anti-scam tools designed to help users stay protected from digital fraud and suspicious online activity. The company said scammers are increasingly using fake identities, fraudulent businesses, and suspicious one-time passwords to create urgency and trick people into sharing sensitive information.
According to WhatsApp, the platform offers multiple layers of safety and privacy protection that can help strengthen account security, identify suspicious activity, and give users greater control over who can contact them.
Silence Unknown Callers
The Silence Unknown Callers feature automatically screens spam, scam, and unknown calls for additional protection. When enabled, calls from unknown numbers are silenced automatically, while users can still review them later through the Calls tab and notifications section.
Context Cards
WhatsApp said scammers often rely on urgency and panic to pressure people into responding before noticing warning signs. To help users identify suspicious accounts, Context Cards in individual chats and groups provide additional information such as whether the sender is saved as a contact, if users share groups in common, whether the phone number is registered in another country, and if the account was created recently.
Users can then decide whether to reply, add the sender as a contact, block the account, or report it.
Screen share warnings
WhatsApp also displays warnings when users attempt to share their screen with an unknown contact during a video call. The company noted that scammers may pressure targets into screen sharing to obtain sensitive information such as bank details or verification codes.
The warning is designed to give users additional context before they proceed with screen sharing.
Device linking warnings
WhatsApp has also introduced alerts for suspicious device-linking requests. The company said scammers may attempt to trick users into linking their WhatsApp account to another device under false pretenses.
When behavioral signals suggest a linking request may be suspicious, WhatsApp displays alerts showing where the request originated from and warns users that the request could potentially be a scam. This gives users an opportunity to pause and reconsider before approving the request.
Two-Step Verification
For additional account protection, WhatsApp recommends enabling Two-Step Verification. The feature adds a six-digit PIN requirement when resetting and verifying a WhatsApp account, helping protect users in cases where scammers attempt to gain unauthorized access through verification codes.
Users can learn more about WhatsApp’s safety and privacy features through the official website of WhatsApp.