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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
Rayana Zapryanova

Expert warns of WhatsApp 'family emergency' scam targeting users across Ireland

WhatsApp Ireland Facebook Instagram

WhatsApp users are being targeted by people stealing the profile picture of a family member or a friend and pretending they need help.

WhatsApp, with its 2 billion users worldwide, has become a favourite target for fraudsters and tactics have become smarter, cybersecurity experts from VPN Overview warn. There are ways to recognise WhatsApp scams and how to prevent them.

As part of the scam, cybercriminals pretend to be a victim’s acquaintance after they have stolen a photo from their other social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. They would also use other information and vocabulary they have seen after stalking the acquaintance on social media and using certain events the individual may have posted about online ("Should’ve asked you for help when we were in that bar yesterday…").

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