WhatsApp introduces new anti-scam tools to crack down criminal scam centers

WhatsApp has announced that it is beefing up its defense against online scams by introducing some new tools. These new tools will keep the scam group invites and accounts away from the platform. In an official post, WhatsApp claimed to have banned over 6.8 million accounts in the first half of 2025, all linked to criminal scam centers.

Most of the banned accounts were a part of an organized scam group based out of Southeast Asia. These scam centers lure innocent people by offering attractive crypto investment opportunities and pyramid schemes. WhatsApp also joined hands with its parent company, Meta, to crack down on a criminal scam center in Cambodia.

In addition to doing things at the backend, WhatsApp is also introducing some new anti-scam tools that will help people protect themselves from scams. For group messaging, WhatsApp will show you a safety overview when someone, not in your contacts, adds you to a group. You will be able to exit the group without ever needing to look at the chats. Moreover, notifications from such groups will remain silenced unless you choose otherwise.

For individual messages, the social media platform is testing a new alerts feature that will provide more context, such as who you are chatting with, to users when they initiate a conversation with an unknown contact.

WhatsApp also encourages people to stay vigilant and self-aware and pause before replying to an unknown contact. They can question their urgency and verify who is at the other end. If things look too good to be true, and something you weren't expecting, chances are high that it is a legit scam. You can also cross-check by calling their number or putting them up on a video call to see who's on the other side.

Source

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Posted Wednesday 6 August 2025 at 4:08 pm AEST (my time).

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