Credulous WhatsApp users are being tricked into downloading WhatsApp Gold, an apparently ‘exclusive’ version of the app which actually infects mobiles with malware.
According to City People, a number of the app’s users have reported receiving messages urging them to sign up for the service via the WhatsApp Gold website, which is linkedin the message.
The app’s extra features (which the scammers claim have only previously been available to top celebrities) include the ability to send hundreds of pictures at once, new emojis, video calling, enhanced security features and more customisation options.
Naturally, the whole thing is nonsense. Downloading the program from the website will simply infect your phone with malware, possibly allowing cybercriminals to steal your data or track your movements and activity.
There’s been a spate of WhatsApp Goldmessages recently, but the scam has existed in different forms for a while, sometimes under the name ‘WhatsApp Plus’.
WhatsApp will actually ban users if it detects this unauthorised software on their phones, and says in the FAQ section of its website: “WhatsApp Plus is an application that was not developed by WhatsApp, nor is it authorised by WhatsApp.”
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