The Message “WhatsApp Offer 1000 GB Of Free Internet ”  Is Fake

One of the largest used messaging app, WhatsApp just turned 10 this July 2019. But it soon grabbed the attention of cyber criminals who have floated a fake message of WhatsApp offering 1000 GB free data. But do not fall for it, it is FAKE.

The fraud campaign is hosted by a domain, which is home to a yet another spurious offers pretending to be from prominent brands. Moreover, the URL which comes along with the message is not an official domain of WhatsApp, the researchers from ESET stated in a blog post.

This is what the message says:

The message read, “WhatsApp Offers 1000 GB Free Internet!” It is followed by a link to click for more details which will land you on a page with a WhatsApp logo with the message, We offer you 1000 GB free internet without Wi-Fi! On the occasion of our 10th anniversary of WhatsApp.

When a user clicks on the link in the message, it takes them to a page that asks the user a number of questions in the form of a survey. These questions try to gain customer’s response regarding the offer. After the survey is complete, the site instructs the user to share this offer with 30 more people to continue further bringing more people into this vicious web.

It is a ‘click fraud’ which is an illegal practice that occurs when individuals click on a website’s click through advertisements (either banner ads or paid text links) to increase the payable number of clicks to the advertiser.

While it is a common practice that businesses run promotions through third parties, it is important to keep in mind that one should verify the same with the company’s website to ensure if the said promotion is valid and genuine.