Staff Reporter
A scam text message has been doing the rounds stating that WhatsApp is about to start charging people to use the service.
It is not true.
The text message invites people to click on a link and pay 99p for a lifetime subscription to the service because their current subscription has come to an end.
However, it is a scam and anyone who receives it is urged to delete it immediately, do not click in the link and certainly don’t hand over your bank details.
If you have clicked the link then you’re probably wise to run antivirus software.
When it was launched, WhatsApp did charge 99p after the first year but that was later scrapped.
It was not immediately clear where the scammers had got people’s telephone numbers from.
@WhatsApp Are starting to charge for your app now? Got text saying about 0.99p subscription see screen shot. Has anybody else had this? pic.twitter.com/rYeYy7KFM5
— Mr Pothole (@mrpotholeuk) May 2, 2017
I’ve just had a text from “Whatsapp” saying my subscription has expired and I need to click a link to renew it. Scam, right?
— Kieran Stevenson (@kiejamste) May 30, 2017
