Phishing attemptsare an everyday occurrence because they are one of the easiest ways for bad actors to extort money or steal your personal data discreetly. These attempts show up as seemingly genuine communication from banks and other businesses, and while email services have matured enough to automatically detect andblock most phishing attempts, the onus of detecting and dodging scam attempts remains on the user with most modern instant messaging apps. WhatsApp may not be ahead of the curve in its war on spam, but a new feature makes it easy to handle spam right on your lock screen.
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WhatsApp is a primary form of communication for a third of the people around the world
WhatsApp is very popular in many parts of the world, serving as the primary instant messaging tool for everyday needs. Since accounts are linked to phone numbers, anyone with your number can contact you on the app, making it rather easy for bad actors to contact you directly. To its credit, WhatsApp displays cautionary alerts just underneath the sender’s contact information when you receive messages from unknown numbers. You’ll also see a prominentBlockbutton beside theAdd to contactsbutton for such chats, but you need to open the chat to tap the message, or at the very least,block the senderfrom your chat list.
Recently, WhatsApp messaged users through its official handle, announcing a new feature where you can block messages from an unknown contact directly from the lock screen. In a quick video, the company explained that if a message has all thehallmarks of phishing attempts, Ponzi schemes, or other scams, you can expand the quick actions on your lock screen, and hit theBlockoption, just beside theReplybutton.
WhatsApp may display a secondary prompt to report the contact. To do this, just tap the checkbox for theReport contactoption, and then hitBlockto confirm your action in the pop-up window. The sender’s last five messages will be shared with WhatsApp, and we hope all the user-provided data paves the way for a smart and automatic spam prevention system. Since this system of blocking contacts is available on your lock screen, it’s also available in your notification shade. In any case, you save the effort of opening the app and then the chat, just to block unwanted messages.
The feature is rolling out widely, and should be available on your device already.
