The news is currently circulating on WhatsApp that the messenger service will be chargeable in the future.
Not only we, but also our cooperation partner “Watchlist-Internet” report, not for the first time, that there is no reason to worry because WhatsApp is not chargeable.
Users can avoid the alleged costs if they forward the notification they receive about it to ten of their contacts, it is said. These claims are false because the letter is a fabricated chain letter. It can be deleted without hesitation.
WhatsApp users receive messages from their contacts saying that the messenger will no longer be free in the future. In order for WhatsApp users to continue using the program free of charge, they must forward the message to 10 of their contacts. These messages read with some examples as follows:
Or:
Or:
What's the news about?
These WhatsApp messages are fake and have incorrect content. This can be seen, among other things, in the following points:
- The messages claim to be from WhatsApp. The company states on its website : “It is likely that you have been the target of a fraudulent endeavor if any of the following describes the WhatsApp message or email you received: The sender claims to be on behalf of to act from WhatsApp.”
- One of the messages says: “you can also read it in the FAQs at whatsapp.com… Greetings”. A review of the FAQs shows that there is no indication that the user's account will be blocked if the message is not forwarded.
- Elsewhere, one of the letters states that “(a)b today (…) the WhatsApp program (is) chargeable and (…) only (costs) €1.23”. If you go to the iTunes App Store or Google Play and search for WhatsApp, you will find the sentence in the item description: “WhatsApp Messenger is a FREE messaging app”. A price of 1.23 euros is not mentioned.
- The CEO of WhatsApp is not – as one of the messages claimed – Jim Balsamico.
- Recipients should forward the text to ten of their contacts. In connection with this, WhatsApp writes on its website : “To protect your contacts from potentially dangerous content, never forward such messages.”
Chain letter
The WhatsApp message is a chain letter. Its aim is to reach the largest possible audience. For this reason, the letters contain instructions to forward the notification to 10 contacts. In reality, the chain letter spreads false news and should therefore be ignored. It is best if recipients delete the made-up messages.
The Internet Watchlist recommends:
We recommend that you do not forward and delete reports that claim that WhatsApp will cost money in the future, otherwise the false reports will continue to spread!
(Watchlist Internet would like to thank a reader for reporting the fake WhatsApp chain letters.)
Source: Watchlist Internet
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