The WhatsApp link you should never click

WhatsApp introduced encrypted video calling to its services last week.

Users can now make video calls across Android, iPhone and Window Phone devices, the social service wrote in a press release.

The feature can be activated simply by upgrading the app to its latest version.

Picture: WhatsApp

It has since emerged that scammers are using this service to steal people’s personal information.

If you are asked to "activate" the feature through a website, don't.

Clicking on the link will redirect you to a fake website carrying a malicious code designed to download all your presonal details. These can then be used to commit fraud and identity theft.

When you’ve completed the “process”, you’re asked to invite more friends, spreading the malware.

The scam has been reported in a number of countries, and Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications went so far as to issue a statement warning people against clicking on the link:

Keeping in mind the popularity of Whatsapp with the messaging users, it is important that the Pakistani users are aware of this scam so that they can take immediate measures to limit exposure to its data protection consequences

Facebook, the company that owns Whatsapp, did not immediately return a request for comment.

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