If you see this message on WhatsApp
« How cool are the new WhatsApp emoticons? «; If in the last few hours you have received a message on WhatsApp informing you of the arrival of new "emoticons" in the application, as soon as It is likely that you are being the victim of a scam attempt Especially in recent days, in WhatsApp (both in Android as in the iPhone, no operating system is spared) a message has begun to circulate encouraging users to access some supposed renewed icons for the application.In reality, this WhatsApp message all it does is steal your contact information, and if you click on the link (snip.li/) attached to said message you will be endangering the integrity of your device.
This scam message from WhatsApp encourages users to click on a link and then display a web page on the which ensures that to activate the new animated emoticons it is necessary to share the link with ten friends in WhatsApp (or, failing that, three different groups). In no case should we consider sharing this message of the emoticons on WhatsApp, since all we will be doing is allowing access to our contacts to the person who has created this scam. If said person accesses our contacts (for this, it is enough that we share the message following the instructions shown in the link), they will receive exactly the same scam attempt, and the chain will continue to circulate more and more people.
The most dangerous part of this scam, as we can see in the screenshots that are collecting web pages such as DiarioSur.es , it's that our own contacts are the ones who can send us this scam Therefore, the moment we receive a suspicious link even from our closest contacts intimate, it is best to consult directly with that person if the link they have shared with us is safe; in case you have any doubts, we should never open it.
If you receive this message, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK, and proceed to delete it as soon as possible.
But, if in reality this message does not allow access to any news related to WhatsApp, for what purpose is being distributed? It turns out that the website linked to in this message has a counter (located at the bottom), and if we wait for it to reach zero, we will see that the real purpose of this scam is to get us to download an application from the Google Play storeThis application appears to be legitimate and is apparently aimed at getting discounts on phone recharges ( although it doesn't even seem to be compatible with Spain). The problem is not the application itself, but it is the person who is distributing this message who is committing the scam, obtaining a financial benefit in exchange for carrying users downloading that particular application.
In short, if one day WhatsApp decides to renew its icons we will know it simply by looking at the application, and of course we will never be will ask us to follow a link to access "exclusive" content. Android scams are the order of the day, and common sense is the best protection we can install on our mobile.
