Special / Amazon sale 99% discount going viral on WhatsApp is a scam

India Today : Jan 29, 2019, 11:50 AM
The link is going viral on WhatsApp these days. Clicking upon the link opens a website that looks very much similar to the Amazon's web page. It has deals and discounts claiming to offer products on price as low as Rs. 1. When you click on the Buy Now option, the web site will ask you for your address details followed by your banking details which can be used by the hackers to snoop into your bank account.

The hoax page looks quite similar to the Amazon's page and can be deceiving in the first look. But if you look at the URL closely, you will find some hidden hints that prove it is a fake message. This is the link going viral on chat app: http://amzn.biggest -sale.live.in. If you look at the URL closely, you will find that it is a fake link. Amazon's URL has amazon.in whereas the fake link has amzn.biggest.

If you receive such messages from an unknown number, it is advisable that you report that number to the Police. Do not forward these messages and report spam the number so that the chat company can get hold of such malicious links and can weed them out from the chat platform.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular chat apps across the world which makes it vulnerable to many scams. Apart from this Amazon hoax message, another phishing message called WhatsApp Gold is doing rounds on the platform. The fake message comes in the form of a video update warning you about a virus. The video apparently installs a malware in the phone and hacks the device once you download that video. WhatsApp updates comes through Play Store or App Store only and this should be your first hint to spot that it is a fake message.

Fake news and messages are a big menace on WhatsApp. The company last year launched full page ads in newspapers and radio campaign across various radio stations in India to create awareness about the spread of fake news and how to spot them. The company last year also launched Forward labels to spot forwarded messages in a bid to fight against spread of fake news.

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