Skip to main content


Girl Looking at a Phone in Confusion

Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 in Privacy & Security

Scam of the Week: WhatsApp with This Phone Number

In this week's scam, cybercriminals are using phone calls to try to scam you. This type of scam is also known as vishing. You receive a strange call on WhatsApp, a calling and messaging app. The call is from an unknown number, and when you answer, you hear a robotic voice that asks you to add a phone number to your WhatsApp contacts. The call then quickly ends without any further explanation. It seems unusual, but harmless.

However, this is actually a kind of test sent out by cybercriminals. They want to see if you’ll listen to their instructions and add the number. If you do, they believe you’ll be an easy victim of future scams. They will contact you again and try to trick you into sharing your verification code so they can hijack your account. Once they have control of your account, they may use it for criminal activities or demand money from you before they restore your access. They can even message your WhatsApp contacts and try to scam them, too!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a vishing scam: 

  • Never add unknown numbers to your contacts, especially if asked to do so unexpectedly.

  • Turn on two-step authentication for your account to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to gain access to it.

  • Always report and block suspicious phone numbers on your messaging apps. Reporting these numbers also helps protect other users from similar scams.

Stop, Look, and Think. Don't be fooled. 

Article provided by:

KnowBe4 Logo

KnowBe4.com 

  1. account security
  2. ai
  3. app
  4. artificial intelligence
  5. cyberattack
  6. cybercriminal
  7. cybersecurity
  8. data leak
  9. digital
  10. email fraud
  11. facebook
  12. false information
  13. holidays
  14. malware
  15. mobile app
  16. money
  17. news
  18. phishing
  19. phone
  20. qr code
  21. ransomware
  22. red flags
  23. scam
  24. security
  25. sensitivity
  26. shopping
  27. social media
  28. tax
  29. taxes
  30. text
  31. travel
Back to Top