WhatsApp has banned over 6.8 million accounts associated with criminal scam centers targeting people worldwide, revealing that it has unveiled new safety features to assist users in detecting and avoiding scams in both group and individual chats.
The tools, according to the messaging platform that is owned by Meta, are intended to provide users with additional context before they engage, particularly when they are added to unfamiliar groups or start conversations with individuals who are not in their contacts.
It also said that it collaborated with Open AI to disrupt a Cambodia-based fraud network in a coordinated enforcement action. The company stated, "as part of our ongoing proactive work to protect people from scams, WhatsApp detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers" in the first six months of this year.
For group chats, the app will now display a safety overview when someone outside a user’s contacts adds them to a group they do not recognise. The overview provides them with safety tips as well as information about whether the person who added them is in their contacts.
Users can open the chat for more information; otherwise, notifications from the group will be muted until they decide to stay.
According to WhatsApp, this is meant to stop sudden additions to large or malicious groups and stop the spread of fake links via mass invitations.
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