On WhatsApp we will no longer be able to send good morning and good night images because these contain viruses that can format the cell phone?
The text of the hoax is this: "Hi...If you don't already know...I'm warning you that from tomorrow nothing good night and good morning with photos. I'm passing the warning on to you. Please warn all the contacts on your list not to open or send good morning and good night photos. Some of them are viruses that will format your phone. Be careful, it's very dangerous. They announced it today on Rai TV, Mediaset Premium, La 7, Sky tg 24, and other TV and radio stations. Spread the word as much as you can. WRITTEN WORDS ONLY.
This is the new hoax currently circulating on the popular messaging application, but it is actually an old chain that is making a strong comeback. The text of the message remains the same as well as the alarmism that it brings with it and that scares those who, accustomed to sharing the famous photos in every part of their day, now fear suffering some damage to their phone.
If we look at how receiving photos on the messaging app works, it seems clear that when we receive a photo we don't have to click anything to open it, because it already appears visible to us.
By the way, we talk about "cell phone" while the devices on which WhatsApp can be used are smartphones and they work slightly differently from cell phones.
The message in question has been repeated annually since 2017, and this year too, panic has spread.
Another hoax going around is that WhatsApp will become a paid service. This hoax was also circulating last year, and like last time, nothing will happen. Several years ago, the most popular messaging app switched to a paid annual subscription, but the subscription has been abolished, and the chances of it returning to a paid service are virtually nil, especially considering that there are currently many competing instant messaging apps that would immediately take advantage of this and many users would migrate to them.
Unfortunately, many people fall into the trap of hoaxes, but understanding whether a news item is true or false is much simpler than you might think.
Here are some ways to tell if a news story is fake:
- Search for the news item on Google along with the word Hoax: In the case of the news item discussed in this article, you can type “Buongiorno Whatsapp hoax photo.”
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- Search for the news on reliable sites: For example, you could try to search for the news on other news sites, comparing the versions you can form your own opinion about it
- Critical Spirit: Rely on your critical spirit too, read the news carefully and ask yourself “Is this news plausible?”, if possible ask someone who knows the topic of the news better than you.
Related to hoaxes is the issue of phishing emails.
What are Phishing Emails?
“Phishing is a type of Internet scam in which an attacker attempts to trick a victim into providing personal information, financial data, or access codes by pretending to be a trustworthy entity in a digital communication.”
Have you ever received an email from Enel telling you that you have received a refund? Or from Amazon telling you that you have something urgent to pay?
Or an email from Paypal threatening to close your account if you don't click on a link?
Well, are these very often phishing?
Recognizing them is quite easy:
- Most often starting with “Dear Customer”: Most emails that come to you from trusted sites start with your name. If it just says “Dear Customer” it is probably a scam.
- Grammar is poor: These types of emails are poorly written, often written in a mixture of English and Italian. Trustworthy sites will send you emails written in correct Italian.
- Check the sender's email: If you click on reply, the sender's email should appear. If it does not match the real email of the site from which it should come, it is phishing
- Copy-paste the email on Google: That's right, if you do this simple check the first results will tell you if it's a phishing email
- Call or email the real sender. If you have any doubts, look for a contact (email or phone) on the website of the alleged sender and explain what happened. They will surely be able to tell you if the email is fake or not.
Be very careful, it is easy to fall into the traps of fake news and phishing emails.
