Chain letters are often not only annoying, but in many cases they are also clearly fakes. An evergreen among these fakes is the so-called “Martinelli” video

The most important things about “Martinelli” and “WhatsApp Gold” in brief:

  • A chain letter warns of these two dangerous things
  • Chain letter is a mutated version of two old warnings
  • Both warnings are unwarranted and should not be shared

There have been warnings about a dangerous “Martinelli” video for years. According to the chain letter, this video is said to be able to “hack” the smartphone as soon as you open it. The entire device should then be unusable.

And not only that: the chain letter also warns of a WhatsApp Gold update. So a lot comes together here: first the Martinelli video and then an unspecified WhatsApp Gold version. The chain letter reads in barrier-free plain text:

[mk_ad]

Tomorrow there will be a video on WhatsApp called martinelli. Please do not open. It hacks your phone and can no longer be repaired. Also don't click on WhatsApp Gold updates. Just hit the news and is considered very serious. Please forward.

Martinelli & WhatsApp Gold Warning
Martinelli & WhatsApp Gold Warning

Martinelli and WhatsApp Gold united

Ultimately, we are dealing with two chain letters that have mutated and grown together to form a common chain letter. The original forms lie in the warning about the so-called Martinelli videos and a WhatsApp Gold version.

Both have their own stories: The Martinelli version is a chain letter translated into German that has been around since at least 2017.

At that time, the Spanish police had already made it clear on Twitter that the Martinelli chain letter was a hoax and should not be spread any further.

However, the story about WhatsApp Gold gets more exciting again, because the origin of this part of the chain letter is not a fake, but is still a superfluous warning.

This is what WhatsApp Gold is about:

WhatsApp Gold  was a fake version of the messenger WhatsApp . This alleged premium version should include numerous new features that WhatsApp itself does not offer. These include new functions such as video chats and self-deleting messages.

This was of course nonsense and led to a user trap. This justified warning about the 2015 gold has now developed its own momentum and has mutated into a long-running chain letter.

[mk_ad]

What you should do now:

Anyone who receives this chain letter does not need to panic. On the contrary: the warnings about a Martinelli video and also WhatsApp Gold are irrelevant. We recommend not sending the chain letter and deleting it immediately if you receive it.

At this point we also refer to SaferInternet.at , which provides very detailed instructions on how to deal with chain letters.

 


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )