…Including the mythical Martinelli video
Hello everyone,
WhatsApp is now in the news again with the resurrection of the WhatsApp Gold upgrade and Martinelli video scam message which some of you may have already encountered.
The ‘Gold’ scam first appeared around 2016 but, like celestial comets, seems to keep on coming round again but, if you are tempted to sign up to this, in reality, non-existent product – DON’T – as it will most probably download malware to your device that can allow scammers to steal your personal data.
As for the Martinelli video, this appears to be a chain hoax message as there has never been any evidence that it is actually in circulation. The lead article in my Which? Scam Alert newsletter last week was a useful article about staying safe on WhatsApp, including this latest scam, and, as I suspect that most of us use it, thought it would be helpful to circulate the article to you all.
And other Scams
While on the subject of fraudulent activity, a neighbour sent me an email he had received which, on first glance, seems to have come from Lloyds bank saying that they were updating their look, and as part of these updates, biometric authentication will become mandatory for all accounts after a certain date and, to avoid disruption to your account, please complete the re-authentication process.
Of course, most of you will know by now what happens next if you proceed as directed – yes, they have your personal details!
This sort of thing is quite common these days but this one, at a casual glance, looks extremely authentic with the logo, correct font, small print ‘important security’ information at the bottom obviously copied and pasted from the genuine site etc., etc. and perhaps a good example of the current level of sophistication that can be used in attempting a scam. Careful scrutiny reveals a number of giveaways, not least the sender’s email address which purports to come from ‘johnlewis’ and a strange domain name but perhaps a reminder for us to be vigilant when a casual glance suggests it might be genuine and lull us into a false sense of security – and there will be many like this out there in the wild.
Click this link to read the Which? advice.
Thanks,
Michael
Webmaster’s Note
If any of you have doubts about messages, emails or WhatsApp chats, feel free to contact me (the Webmaster) in confidence and I’ll be happy to guide and advise. There’s no shame in not knowing about the devious world we live in.
John
Email: webmaster@aspc.org.uk