📱I Received a Suspicious WhatsApp Message
Don’t panic. Don’t click. Don’t reply.
Scammers often use WhatsApp to impersonate
banks, police, government officials, employers, delivery companies, friends, family members, and customer-support teams.
🚨 What Should I Do?
🛑 1. STOP
Don’t respond immediately—even if the message says you must act urgently.
🔗 2. DON’T CLICK
Don’t open suspicious:
- Links
- APK files
- Documents
- QR codes
- Payment requests
🔐 3. DON’T SHARE
Never send:
❌ OTPs
❌ WhatsApp verification codes
❌ UPI PIN
❌ Banking passwords
❌ Card details
❌ Aadhaar/PAN copies
❌ Recovery codes
🔍 4. VERIFY
If the message claims to be from a bank, company, government agency, friend, or family member, contact them through a separate, trusted channel.
Don’t use the phone number or link provided in the suspicious message.
🚩 5. REPORT & BLOCK
If the account is clearly fraudulent, use WhatsApp’s Report and Block options.
⚠️ Common WhatsApp Scam Messages
👮 “You are involved in a criminal case.”
Possible digital-arrest scam.
💰 “You’ve won a prize.”
Possible prize scam.
📦 “Your parcel is stuck. Pay ₹50.”
Possible delivery scam.
💼 “Earn ₹5,000 per day from home.”
Possible job/task scam.
📈 “Join our guaranteed-profit investment group.”
Possible investment scam.
👨👩👧 “I’m your son. I’ve lost my phone. Send money.”
Possible impersonation scam.
🔐 “Send me the WhatsApp code you received.”
Possible account-takeover attempt.
📲 “Install this APK to complete verification.”
Potentially malicious application.
🚨 If You Already Clicked the Link
Don’t panic.
If you entered a password, OTP, banking information, or installed an application:
- Stop communicating with the sender.
- Secure the affected account.
- Change compromised passwords from a trusted device.
- Review WhatsApp linked devices.
- Contact your bank immediately if financial information was exposed.
- Preserve screenshots, links, phone numbers and messages.
💸 If Money Has Already Been Lost
ACT IMMEDIATELY
📞 Call 1930 for financial cyber fraud in India.
Then report the incident through the:
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
Keep your transaction ID/UTR, screenshots, phone number, WhatsApp profile, messages and payment records.
🧭 THE SCAM NAVIGATOR
STOP → CHECK → VERIFY → DON’T SHARE → REPORT
An urgent WhatsApp message is not an emergency until you’ve independently verified it.