WhatsApp Warning – How your favourite phone chat app can easily turn into a hackers playground

Imagine this: you get a message from your ‘mate’ begging for an urgent favour. Maybe they want you to send them a six-digit code or transfer some emergency cash.

Sound familiar? If you fall for it, congratulations: you just handed the keys to your digital castle over to a thief. Bravo!

Or how about a mysterious link to win an Audi or promising free tickets to a flamenco show? Spoiler alert: the only thing dancing is the malware that’s just infected your phone!

And the worst part? These scammers don’t even need to be fluent in Spanish. Thanks to the latest advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), their messages look real enough to make you pause… and sometimes they can even sound it by impersonating voices.

That’s the way high tech fraud is going. And online fraud is by far the most common crime around these days (in the UK up to 40% of all reported crime).

Why Are Expats the Perfect Target?

Let’s be honest: juggling a new language, the advances in technology, and trusting your ‘amigos’ halfway across the world is tricky. It’s like trying to dance flamenco with two left feet… easy to stumble.

How to Outsmart the WhatsApp Tricksters

Before you get swept off your feet by a panicked plea, take a moment to think. Never share your verification codes. No real friend would ask for those (unless they’ve suddenly turned into a cyber villain). If someone asks for money, always double-check by calling them directly and not through WhatsApp. Scammers thrive on panic, so stay calm.

Make sure you enable two-step verification; it’s like adding a second lock to your digital front door. Be cautious of links promising freebies, and if you don’t know exactly where they came from, steer clear. And don’t forget to keep WhatsApp updated. Old versions are about as useful as expired sun cream: no good when you really need protection.

We can help!

It has been golden rule for centuries: When in Doubt, Call the Pros. If this all sounds like too much to handle between your sangria and sunbathing, don’t sweat it.

There is a company set up to advise you and help with any urgent, tricky or potentially embarrassing queries (wink, wink, nudge nudge). We have your back 24/7 with real people to help.

It’s team of technicians are ready to help with any queries regarding your phone, any correspondence or anything to do with your computers or technology in your house or while out and about.

We guarantee to keep your online life safer than a sunhat in a breeze. And for a very small price a month. So, next time WhatsApp buzzes with a frantic request or a too-good-to-be-true offer, remember: hackers want to crash your fiesta, but you’re the bouncer… and to be 100% sure, join one of Europe’s fastest growing tech companies, according to the Financial Times, so no mishaps ever affect you.