Add friction to counter WhatsApp fraud
WhatsApp fraud, where criminals try to embezzle money from credulous, vulnerable victims, is rampant. Part of the problem is that with internet banking and especially banking apps, transferring money is a breeze. Here I discuss some methods that could help to protect potential victims, by adding some purposeful friction.
There are several forms of fraud involving WhatsApp. One method involves the scammer sending a message to the victim, while claiming to be a family member (e.g. “Hi dad, It’s me. Had a little accident and broke my phone, so I am now contacting you with my new number.”). As soon as the victim responds (“Hi dear, hope you’re ok!”) and apparently believes the claim, the scammer concocts a story that he/she urgently needs some money. Could dad please wire a significant amount of money as soon as possible, pretty please? Believe it or not, many people fall for this. (According to this study, in the Netherlands this happens to 5% of the people contacted by scammers, sometimes paying thousands of euros!)
Now the way in which the victim is asked to transfer money varies: sometimes a link to a payment request is sent, allowing the victim to “seamlessly” rescue the sibling by opening it with their banking app. Sometimes, an account number is sent with the request to transfer the money to that account.
