An immediate WhatsApp warning has been issued to its two billion users as fake accounts have been posing as the messaging platform.
Anyone receiving a message from a "suspicious account" is advised to delete it straight away. WhatsApp blog WABetaInfo said there is a clear way to identify that the messages aren't really from WhatsApp.
It said: "Some of these accounts set a particular profile photo that contains a verified badge so they may be able to people. How can you understand if you are chatting with a verified account on WhatsApp?