5 things you should not do with WhatsApp chains

Rare is the week that we don't find ourselves on WhatsApp with some chain: those messages that invite us to be shared and that offer us a multitude of gifts, scare us with non-existent scams or promise us a permanent job. The immediate and viral component of WhatsApp, which behaves almost like a social network, is the perfect breeding ground for a chain to grow and grow. They are anonymous comments, they seem legitimate and too attractive not to believe them at face value and share them with all our users

Hints to identify a string

We are going to offer you a series of clues that may lead you to think that that attractive or sensationalist message that you have been sent is a chain. If you are able to identify them, you will be able to combat them effectively.

If they are so great that they seem unbelievable, they are

A free job at Mercadona, a thousand Nike shoes as a gift valued at 100 euros, a discount coupon at Zara for your pretty face... If when you read a WhatsApp message you think it's too pretty to be true is that, in all probability, it is a great and enormous hoax.

They usually have spelling mistakes

You can see that cybercriminals didn't use to go much to language class in high school, because the networks are often riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings If where a 'to see' had to go there is a 'to have', do not doubt it: what they have sent you is a great and enormous chain.

Note the URL the string sends you to

Always look at the address to which the chain is sent: they are usually substitutes for official pages (for example, instead of tuexperto.com we could read yourexpert- freeflights.com If you suspect an Internet address, skip it.

What should you never do with a WhatsApp chain?

We have already identified the string. Now, what should we never do with a WhatsApp chain? We leave you with 5 guidelines or tips that you should follow so as not to turn a chain into something unstoppable and viral.

Always believe them

I consider myself a naive person. I believe in the goodness of strangers and that they don't have to fool me. I tend to be a gullible person. If you're like me, on WhatsApp you have to have lead feet The first impulse when we read a chain is to share it. If not, they would not be chains. And the intentions, always, always, are good. Networks can alert us to a phone scam, promise us a safe job, give us very expensive sunglasses or luxury sneakers. And we want our friends to take advantage of this wonderful offer too. And we feel like such good people that we end up believing everything.

So the biggest piece of advice we can give you from here is: read the string twice. Read it three times, if necessary. Keep your impulses at bay. And do not believe almost anything of what they tell you on WhatsApp, especially if it is too good to be true.

Share immediately

This point is directly related to the previous one. If a chain is true and we can enjoy with it advantages, prizes, advice, avoid fraud... Why am I not going to share it? What's more: my must is to share it since it contains relevant and valuable information. Nothing is further from reality. Sharing a chain means being an accomplice of the chain's maker. The chains usually have Internet addresses that people enter and, through a form, are asked to enter their personal data The least harmful chains to The most they get is to get your email. Yes, your email SPAM tray will be full, but little else will happen to you.

The bad thing is when that Internet address contains a registration form for a premium rate service. If any form on any Internet page that you have reached through a WhatsApp ad asks for your phone number, do not put it under any circumstancesIt goes without saying that the exact same thing would happen with bank details.

Sharing the chain is allowing it to live on. Do not share them under any circumstances, not even to warn them that they are chains. Notify with your own text, such as 'Don't believe the Nike offer for free if it reaches you via WhatsApp, it's a scam'.

Do not block contact

We are not telling you to block a good friend at the first opportunity for sending you a WhatsApp chain. We can all slip out of the hand and inadvertently send a chain, thinking that it is a completely legitimate message. But if you have among your contacts the typical colleague who all he does is send jokes in dubious taste, videos of a pornographic nature and dozens of chains every week (we all have them, I'm sure) surely the only solution either block it

Before making this drastic decision, talk to him and explain to him the dangers of sending chains in a systematic way. If it still persists and keeps sending strings, block. To block any contact in WhatsApp, you just have to choose that contact and press the three-point menu that you can see at the top of the screen. Then click on 'More' and then 'Block'. You can also use this if the contact in question is bothering you by sending SPAM or for any other reason.

Do not check the information

It costs nothing to search the Internet for information about what the chain says. It is very simple. If the network tells you that Nike is giving away sneakers, go to the official Nike website. If it's RyanAir, which is giving away flights around Europe for its anniversary, go to the RyanAir page. If it's Mercadona, which is looking for employees and will give you a secure job with the click of a link, type 'Mercadona job offers' on your computer.Reliable and experienced companies will never use WhatsApp as the main means for their promotions (this may change thanks to the arrival of WhatsApp Business where, thanks to double checking, we will verify that the companies that speak to us are real and true).

Failing to report possible fraud

OK. We have fallen into the clutches of a chain and have been cheated. Don't you know that you can go to the nearest police station and file a complaint? Take screenshots of the chain, of the form that they have made you write. Get in touch with WhatsApp and report the chain… Do whatever but do something. Strings must not go unpunished as they endanger the safety of millions of users around the world.