The new “WhatsApp Gold feature” is actually a hoax
Monday, January 7, 2019 IST
The scam is in the form of a message warning users about a virus. It arrives in the form of a video claiming to be a new update for WhatsApp
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WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app, is vulnerable to many scams. An old hoax called “WhatsApp Gold” has made a comeback on the messaging platform. The scam is in the form of a message warning users about a virus. It arrives in the form of a video claiming to be a new update for WhatsApp.
WhatsApp users shared this scam on Twitter. The hoax message reads:
FYI: Whatsapp Gold. A video will be launched tomorrow in Whatsapp called Martinelli. DO NOT OPEN it. Its a virus which goes into your phone and nothing will fix it. Do not update to Whatsapp Gold the virus is serious.
The said video, Martinelli, will reportedly install a malware in the user’s phone and hack it once a user downloads it.
This WhatsApp scam turned out to be fake, but users should still be careful about such messages. Any update to WhatsApp will be available through Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. Any other source can potentially harm your device with malwares. WhatsApp users should also be wary of such messages with the ‘Forwarded’ label.
WhatsApp last year rolled out a feature to tackle fake news by labelling messages with the ‘Forwarded’ tag. The Facebook-owned company also limited forwarding messages to only five people.
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