A WhatsApp Gold scam message which circulated the web in 2016, infecting unsuspecting WhatsApp users with malware and virus is back, this time, in a new form.
The WhatsApp Gold hoax message began to make rounds in 2016, with claims to offer users a special hidden version of the messaging service with features that weren't available on the original version of the app.
Also Read: Warning! Users Of These Phones Will Be Permanently Blocked From Using WhatApp After Tonight
To entice users in to downloading the malware, the hoax message said the WhatsApp Gold upgrade gave users the ability to send 100 pictures at once, hold video chats and delete messages. The link to download the WhatsApp Gold is in fact a link to download a malware.
The latest scam message start out by warning WhatsApp users about a video called martinelli, which it claims to come tomorrow to hack your phone.
Heres the message:
"If you know anyone using WhatsApp you might pass this. An IT colleague has advised that a video comes out tomorrow from WhatsApp called martinelli do not open it, it hacks your phone and nothing will fix it. Spread the word. If you receive a message to update the WhatsApp to WhatsApp Gold, do not click !!!!!
"Now said on the news this virus is difficult and severe. pass it on to all"
The martinelli video doesn't exist but instead, is the frontal for the real scam: WhatsApp Gold.
According to cybersecurity firm Sophos, WhatsApp users should refrain from forwarding any of those messages as there isn't any martinelli video.
"What complicates the matter is the second element of truthfulness that the chain letter has acquired since it first arose: WhatsApp Gold truly is dangerous and deserves to have attention paid to it," the security firm said describing how difficult it was to curb the spread of the warning hoax.
Snopes notes that "WhatsApp Gold scam messages have, for at least two and a half years and via varyingly worded messages, claimed that the new 'premium service' would get users extra goodies, such as video calling and new emojis.
"Users who clicked on the link got no goodies. They got baddies, in the form of a non-WhatsApp website that told them to download malware nicknamed 'WhatsApp Gold'."
Sophos security issued the following tips to stay safe from the scam:
- Apply security updates promptly
- Get your apps from the App Store or Google Play
- Use security software like Sophos Mobile Security for iOS or Android