Desk Report – Online scams are rising at an alarming rate. Fraudsters frequently pose as government officials, corporate representatives, or even acquaintances to steal personal and financial data.
Using fake One-Time Passwords (OTPs), urgent money requests, or misleading texts, they entrap unsuspecting users.
To combat these digital threats, WhatsApp has heavily fortified its security system. The popular instant messaging, photo, and video-sharing platform has introduced several new security safeguards to protect its users. Let’s explore these five essential security features.
1. Silence Unknown Callers
To guard users against spam and fraudulent calls, WhatsApp introduced the “Silence Unknown Callers” feature. Once activated, calls from unrecognized numbers are automatically silenced. However, they will still appear in your call history and notifications so you can review them later if necessary.
2. Context Cards
When you receive a message from an unknown number or are added to a new group, the “Context Cards” feature provides helpful background information about the sender. This allows you to evaluate the authenticity of the message instantly, making it easier to decide whether to reply, block, or report the contact.
3. Screen Share Warnings
During video calls, scammers often manipulate users into sharing their screens to hijack personal data, banking details, or other sensitive information. To stop this, WhatsApp now displays an alert when a user initiates screen sharing, explicitly warning them of the potential risks when interacting with strangers.
4. Device Linking Alerts
As WhatsApp allows one account to be linked across multiple devices, scammers have started exploiting this feature by tricking users into linking their accounts to unauthorized devices. The new “Device Linking Warning” detects suspicious linking requests, issues an alert, and shows the location of the request, helping users block unwanted access.
5. Two-Step Verification
One of the most effective ways to secure your account is enabling Two-Step Verification. When active, this feature requires a unique six-digit PIN whenever your WhatsApp account is re-registered or verified. This extra layer makes it incredibly difficult for bad actors to hijack your account without permission.