WhatsApp: Scammers are using YouTube’s name to steal your data

---

The global economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath left a lot of people without their jobs. Several sectors of the market have suffered with the pandemic and the war. Some are collecting the results now. We’ve been seeing big tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, laying off several of their employees. With so many jobless people across the world, scammers are shifting their focus. In recent months, we’ve been a surge of scams in apps like WhatsApp offering money at the expense of a few clicks. Sounds like the perfect deal right? The problem is that it will charge you a high cost once you realize it’s a scam. There is a new scam that uses WhatsApp in some countries like Brazil and India promising money for a few YouTube likes.

The latest WhatsApp scam promises payment for YouTube Likes

The new scam promises additional income by simply liking some YouTube videos. The scammers contact people through WhatsApp and say they’re representatives of global marketing companies. They convince the user that they can get around $0,50 per like. That’s not much, but they promise up to $60 per day if you perform 5,000 likes. If you like 5,000 videos every day for the seven days of the week, you’ll get about $420 per week. That is sweet right? The problem is that it’s a scam trying to steal the data and money of users.

Once the scammers approach the WhatsApp user, they will request personal info to proceed with payment. After collecting the data, they will say they’re facing technical issues. Sometimes, they can even transfer a small amount to sound credible. After that, they will require the user to install an app for transferring the payment. The problem is that these apps usually are trojans or malware. They will request the user to transfer $1 for verification. They will then get access to all your data. With a few steps, you’ll have granted the scammer access to bank account details, credit cards, emails, and more. Once they get access to your data, there is not much you can do besides blocking everything.

If you ever get a message offering a job of this kind, be aware that it can pretty much be a scam. Once the damage is done, the scammer will delete the WhatsApp account and run away to find another victim. In Brazil, there are some scammers using WhatsApp and Telegram to steal users’ data. They say they work at Amazon and will show a series of screenshots of payments to convince the victims. Usually, the goal is the same: To steal your data and get access to your personal info.

Make sure to report these WhatsApp accounts, and block them for future access. Also, don’t leave your phone number on public websites or social media. Sometimes, scammers will access certain groups just to find victims. So, it’s not easy to avoid them. The best thing to do is always do research, and avoid any kind of “easy money” promise.