The incessant trickle of WhatsApp hoaxes continues that claim to achieve important benefits for the user who reads, shares and disseminates them. The bad arts of the cybercriminal take advantage of the need of people who, excited, share that wonderful job offer or that free pair of tickets that, apparently, RyanAir airline is giving away on the occasion of their anniversary.
This latest WhatsApp hoax is the one that seems to spread now: the message is tremendously attractive: Who wouldn't want to get two free plane tickets to travel the world? And all to thank the user for his 33 years of service. It is such a succulent offer that we do not hesitate to click on the link, answer all the questions they ask us, fill in any form ... And once we do that, we have already fallen into the trap.
How to know that we are facing a WhatsApp hoax
Let's take as an example the hoax that we received just yesterday, Sunday, January 21. In it, we observe the following text:
I understand that the first reaction is to click on the link and try to get the plane tickets. But we must remain calm: it is a very tempting offer. Maybe too much. And if something seems too good to be true, it surely is not . Before this message we have several options:
Look at the web that tells us that we should click, and then compare it with the official one. In the previous message we have, on the one hand, written, the official website, but it cannot be clicked. Below, we see another one that is quite similar to the official one but it IS NOT. In addition, in the text it is written 'the offer is only for today' . What day do they refer to? If I share it tomorrow, is the offer also valid? And when in doubt, you just have to enter the official website: An offer of such magnitude would be placed in a highly visible place on your website. And there is no trace of him, at all.
Another way to know if we are facing a WhatsApp hoax is to investigate it on the Internet. In this case, a simple search for 'free flights + whatsapp + ryanair' to realize that everything is a lie. That simple
What (not) to do when faced with a WhatsApp hoax?
Something very basic although difficult not to do is to run to share. But how can I not share that RyanAir is giving away tickets? Well, first, because it is not RyanAir and because nobody is going to give you anything. The most the company can do is launch really aggressive offers or raffle a product, always on the condition that you promote them. Or, for example, in the case of Mercadona: the hoax claimed to give a permanent job to whoever entered the link and filled out the questionnaire to request an interview. A serious company like Mercadona launches its job offers through official channels, not through instant messaging applications.
It is vitally important that these types of hoaxes are not shared: in addition, most of the items that are sent through WhatsApp and contain great offers or terrifying scam messages are hoaxes. And we say the majority for not catching our fingers and saying 'all'. So forget about offers and tremors on WhatsApp : go to reliable sources and never share them.