What We Know About the 'Add Me on WhatsApp' Scam Calls

Britain's data watchdog is investigating a sharp rise in automated phone calls that ask people to add a number on WhatsApp, warning the calls likely feed into a recruitment scam, the BBC reports.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it received more than 3,600 complaints about the automated calls, known as robocalls, in September. That is a five-year high for the agency and nearly three times the number of complaints it logged in July, according to the BBC.

What is the 'add me on WhatsApp' call?

The calls use a recorded voice, not a live caller, and typically appear to come from a UK mobile number, the BBC reported. The recording asks the person who answers to add that number on WhatsApp. Some of the messages mention an offer of part-time work, according to the broadcaster.

Simon Fell, from the Communications Crime Strategy Group, a telecoms industry body that works to tackle fraud, told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours that he could not say exactly what form the scam takes because he had not followed up on the messages himself. "Most likely it would be a recruitment scam," he said.

What happens if someone follows up?

Fell laid out several possibilities. "They would either put you through to a fake job listing, which might involve some form of money muling. It could look like a completely legitimate job, or something ad hoc, but they might pass criminal funds through your account which can lead to terrible consequences," he told the BBC.

He said the calls could also be a simple phishing exercise. "Criminals send out these messages, and what they really want to know is who's picking up, who's active — that information can be resold on the dark web," Fell said. "The possibilities are endless," he added, saying "this is a criminal that has reached out to you and they're trying to defraud you in some way, shape or form."

Fell also said that once someone adds the number on WhatsApp, the encrypted platform makes it harder for investigators to follow the conversation. Liaising with Meta, which owns WhatsApp, matters because "any dialogue that happens between you and the criminal then can't be investigated any further," he told the broadcaster.

Where are the calls coming from?

Andy Curry, the ICO's head of criminal investigations, told the BBC he believes the calls originate from abroad. "We are trying to find who is behind this, why they're doing it and the impact it's having on members of the public," Curry said.

He said the roughly 3,600 complaints logged in September represent only a small slice of the people actually targeted. "We think there are probably millions of people who are receiving these messages, which appear to us to be largely indiscriminate," Curry told the BBC. "I've had them, my colleague who's leading the investigation has had them. It's likely to be tip of the iceberg."

What is being done to stop it?

Fell said mobile companies are "working on a range of fronts," including sending intelligence reports to the telecoms regulator Ofcom, working with law enforcement, and coordinating with WhatsApp's parent company Meta, according to the BBC.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told the broadcaster the platform has features designed to protect users from scam calls, including the ability to silence calls from unknown numbers, and said WhatsApp has banned millions of accounts tied to scam activity.

How can people protect themselves?

The ICO's advice, as relayed by the BBC, is straightforward: ignore calls from numbers not recognized, and block and report any suspicious calls to the watchdog.

By the numbers

• More than 3,600 complaints about automated calls reached the ICO in September — a five-year high.
• That figure is nearly three times the complaints the ICO received in July.

Glossary

• ICO (Information Commissioner's Office): The UK's independent regulator for data protection and electronic communications complaints.
• Robocall: An automated phone call that plays a pre-recorded message rather than connecting to a live person.
• Money muling: Using a person's bank account to move funds tied to criminal activity, often without the account holder fully understanding the source of the money.
• Phishing: An attempt to trick someone into revealing information, such as confirming an active phone number, that criminals can exploit or resell.

The ICO's investigation is ongoing, and neither the agency nor the telecoms industry group has identified who is behind the calls, the BBC reported.