Whether it’s ping calls from India, supposedly lucrative job offers or phishing attacks using a false identity: fraudsters are always trying to lure their victims into a trap via WhatsApp. However, the messenger is now working on a new function that could better protect users from WhatsApp fraud. These new settings should make it particularly easy for users to reject unknown WhatsApp contacts.
WhatsApp gets spam protection
“What the farmer doesn’t know, he doesn’t eat,” is a common saying. Many people would probably like to act similarly when unknown people try to contact them and prevent them if possible. This could soon be particularly easy to do in WhatsApp Messenger. Because, as the blog “WABetaInfo” reported, WhatsApp is currently testing a new setting that allows messages from unknown contacts to be automatically blocked. The blocking only occurs when an unknown contact sends an unusually high number of messages in a short period of time. This ensures that users can still receive potentially important messages from unknown contacts despite the setting being activated. At the same time, users are better protected against spam messages.
Function in test phase
The new feature is currently only available in the beta versions of WhatsApp for Android and iOS. There it can be found under the privacy settings in the “Advanced” section. If the test phase of the setting is successful, WhatsApp should also integrate it into the official version of its messenger. However, it is not yet clear when this might be the case. In this guide, we explain how you can effectively protect yourself from fraud via WhatsApp.
