"Your WhatsApp is expired! If you don't update you will lose everything." A new scam targets WhatsApp: this time the message suggests updating the app
The scams that are most successful are those that never change and that cyclically repeat the same modus operandi. This is well known by the scammers who, for a couple of years now, have elected WhatsApp as their favorite platform: among the billion monthly users there is always someone not very attentive to the issues of computer security.
To give the alarm of the new WhatsApp scam is the State Police through its very active Facebook account "Commissariato di PS Online - Italia". The message of the scam is quite clear: it warns the user that WhatsApp has expired and that it is necessary to update it immediately, otherwise you will lose all contacts and photos sent via the instant messaging application. At the end of the message, there is also a button that says Ok to start the update: in reality, the user is directed to another page where he will download some virus or activate a subscription service.
How to defend yourself against scams
The trap set by hackers is identical to the scam on paid WhatsApp: they try to get the user to click on a malicious link in order to steal personal data or install some malware on the smartphone. Defending yourself against this type of scam is quite simple: WhatsApp is only updated through the Google Play Store or the App Store and above all the user is not warned by SMS, but will find the update directly within the digital store. When you receive a message like this, the first thing to do is to delete the message and blacklist the contact who sent it to you: it is a scammer.