WhatsApp has announced the rollout of new scam protection measures on its messaging platform. These include a safety overview for group invites and continued enforcement actions against organised scam operations.
According to WhatsApp, the new “safety overview” feature activates when users are added to a group by someone not in their contact list. Instead of being included directly into a potentially suspicious group chat, users will now first see a preview with essential group details and safety tips. They can then choose to exit immediately or view the chat for further context. Importantly, group notifications will be muted until the user actively decides to stay.
The platform adds that this addition complements its existing safety tools, such as the ability to block and report suspicious messages, silence unknown callers and limit who can add users to groups. These work alongside automated systems powered by machine learning that detect and remove fraudulent accounts at scale.
Meanwhile, it is also trialling new alert systems in response to scammers who attempt to lure users into private conversations by initiating contact outside WhatsApp. These include context cards that provide additional information when users begin messaging someone not in their contacts, encouraging users to pause and assess before engaging further.
Beyond user-level protections, WhatsApp and parent company Meta say that they are continuing to actively tackle scam networks that operate on a larger scale. In the first half of this year alone, both have detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to criminal scam centres, many of which are believed to be run by organised crime groups using forced labour in parts of Southeast Asia. These takedowns were based on proactive detection methods that identified suspicious activity before the accounts could be used to launch scams.
(Source: WhatsApp press release)
