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Clicking WhatsApp links making users vulnerable to cybercrime

Posted on 27th November 2016 by TheLordMayor1983

Clicking on the links circulated on instant messaging app may expose and make them vulnerable to cyberattacks

Giving away a warning to all WhatsApp users across the globe, a report said that clicking on the links circulated on instant messaging app may expose and make them vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to a report in The Sun newspaper, hackers are using simple tricks to fool people into visiting booby-trapped websites and then fleecing them.

Recently, Whatsapp rolled out video calling and scammers are taking the advantage of this new feature as bait to tempt people into their trap. Video calling download links shared on WhatsApp messages take users to malicious websites.

“If you receive an email asking you to “activate” the function by visiting a website, make sure you don’t click it. Anyone who is tricked into visiting the danger pages could end up being targeted by digital criminals,” the report pointed out.

Earlier this month, announcing that India now has nearly 160 million monthly active users, WhatsApp launched a video calling feature here which was rolled out globally. The feature is available on all platforms — Android, iOS and Windows. A user does not need to go to any links to download the feature. Your app store will receive an update from WhatsApp with the new feature.

WhatsApp is available in more than 50 different languages around the world and in 10 Indian languages. Nearly 100 million calls are being made on the platform daily worldwide. With the video calling feature, WhatsApp will now compete with Microsoft-owned Skype and Google’s Duo.

Another hoax, which talked about ‘WhatsApp Gold’ that has also been doing the rounds on the popular messaging app gives a link for users to open, claiming that it would offer users access to an exclusive form of the app.

By: IANS

Source http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/social/clicking-whatsapp-links-making-users-vulnerable-to-cybercrime-4395929/

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