The St. Petersburg police reported that fraudsters have become active with a new scheme in which people are offered to install a supposedly updated version of the WhatsApp* messenger, which works without interruptions. The mailings are aimed at gaining access to personal data, financial information and user devices.
Since the beginning of 2026, several thousand such attempts have been registered, and their number is likely to grow, law enforcement officials suggest. Fraudsters are actively sending out phishing SMS and emails, offering to follow links to download the program. They lead to malicious sites whose purpose is to steal personal and payment data of users.
Police strongly advise against clicking on suspicious links, even if they come from acquaintances. It is recommended to download applications and their updates only from official stores, and in no case should you report personal data and codes from SMS.
According to Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, this type of fraud has become a classic example of social engineering based on users' fears.
* BELONGS TO META, WHOSE ACTIVITIES ARE RECOGNIZED AS EXTREMIST AND PROHIBITED IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
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