Brits are being warned about mysterious scam calls asking them to add an unknown number on WhatsApp, as fraudsters increasingly use messaging platforms to continue approaches that can develop into recruitment and other scams.
The warning follows reports of people receiving repeated calls and messages, while telecoms companies say criminals are also turning to artificial intelligence to make fraudulent campaigns more convincing and easier to run at scale.
Sources told The Sun that the calls can appear vague at first.
A person may receive a missed call or voicemail from an unfamiliar number, followed by a request to continue the conversation on WhatsApp. The reason for the move may not be immediately clear, but security and telecoms experts have urged consumers not to engage with unexpected callers or hand over personal information.
The tactic matters because the first contact is not necessarily the scam itself, but it can be an opening move.
WhatsApp Scam Calls Can Lead to Recruitment Fraud
The reported approaches have included callers asking people to save or add their number on WhatsApp.
Some of these contacts are understood to be linked to recruitment scams, in which victims are presented with supposed work opportunities before being encouraged to provide information or, eventually, money.
Recruitment fraud can take several forms.
A message may promise easy earnings for completing simple tasks, or a supposed employer may ask for personal information, banking details or an upfront payment. The initial contact can therefore look relatively harmless compared with what follows.
That is why simply adding an unknown number should not be treated as the point at which money is automatically at risk. The danger comes from the conversation that may follow and what a fraudster attempts to persuade the recipient to do.
Mobile UK, the industry body representing the UK's mobile operators, has warned that criminals are constantly adapting their methods. It has urged consumers to remain vigilant, avoid sharing personal details and report suspected scam calls and texts to 7726.
The free reporting service is used by mobile networks to identify and investigate suspicious communications. Consumers can also block and report suspicious accounts on WhatsApp rather than continuing the conversation.
There is another reason the scale of modern fraud is difficult to pin down. Not every suspicious call is necessarily a confirmed scam, and not every call reaching a consumer will have been generated using artificial intelligence.
Virgin Media O2 said its AI-powered Call Defence system had flagged or labelled more than one billion suspected scam and spam calls to O2 customers. That figure refers to calls identified by the system as suspected threats. It does not mean that one billion confirmed scam calls were blocked.
AI Is Giving Fraudsters More Ways To Scale Scam Calls
Artificial intelligence has nevertheless become part of the ever-evolving fraud industry.
Mobile industry representatives have warned that criminals are increasingly using AI to produce more convincing phishing campaigns, fake websites, deepfake calls and spoofed messages at scale.
However, there is no confirmation that every caller asking a target to move to WhatsApp is using AI, or that AI generated the particular calls described in the reports. The technology is better understood as another tool available to fraudsters rather than proof of how any individual scam was created.
For consumers, the practical warning remains relatively simple. An unexpected caller asking for a conversation to be moved elsewhere should not be treated as trustworthy simply because the request sounds routine. The same applies if a supposed recruiter makes contact without a clear explanation of who they represent.
The safest response is not to provide personal or financial information, send money or follow links supplied during an unsolicited approach.
Suspicious mobile calls and messages can be reported through 7726, while WhatsApp users can block and report accounts they do not recognise.
