Fake Linkt toll texts, spammy Mygov messages complete with dodgy login links and now this – an unsolicited Whatsapp link to a ‘stock trading group.’
Boy oh boy is my phone a busy beaver in the early hours of the am currently!
You have one new message!
Usually when my phone buzzes between midnight and 4:30am when the first alarm goes off, it’s one of two things.
- The bank app explaining which utility just took money out of my account leaving not much left (gee, thanks!)
- Some kind of dodgy scam text message, more often than not pretending to be from a financial institution I don’t have an account with. Or to pay link tolls I didn’t go through or a tax debt I don’t have.
This stock trading group Whatsapp group invitation though? That’s a new one.
So what make’s this Stock Trading Group message a possible scam then?
- It’s from an unsolicited number (and this is the third time I’ve blocked the same message from three different numbers. Dodgy dodgy.
- It’s a Whatsapp invitation…outside of Whatsapp. I know that doesn’t seem strange initially but most Whatsapp invites are usually sent to me via Whatsapp itself. Along with all sorts of other strange messages when I least expect it.
- And thirdly even though I’m big on buying tiny slices of companies far more successful than myself, I’ve never put the call out for an invite to or a needing to join a stock trading group. Come to think of it, it’s rare that I’ve ever had a conversation with anyone about shares and stocks ranging from anything more than ‘yes I have shares.’
So where did this come from then?
Long story short, it’s a dodgy looking text message sent to me in the early morning from an unknown number. If that doesn’t start alarm bells ringing then can I interest you in some moon based real estate going cheap? You can even send a deposit into my stock trading account if you like…
(Interestingly as soon as you type the words ‘Whatsapp stock’ into Google, every third suggestion has the word scam in there somewhere. IE
Whatsapp stock trading scam
Whatsapp stock scam
Whatsapp market scam
Whatsapp – it’s scammers app of choice! :P)
So what could possibly go wrong here then?
A great question there Jeremy Clarkson!
Initially I thought it might be a case of the old pump and dump play (you buy into a stock, convince everyone you can it’s about to rocket to the moon, they buy it too and you cash out at an inflated price before it all comes crashing down back to reality again) and the more I read into it, the more I believe this to be a partial possibility.
Partial because there’s plenty of other things that could be happening in this stock trading Whatsapp offer, (and a massive thanks to this Reddit thread about a similar invite) including:
-Being invited to a fake website where it looks like the money you’re putting in is really going gangbusters…when it’s not. It may look like you’re buying into Nvidia stock or Cme group but it turns out you’re doing anything but..
-Suddenly not being able to retrieve your money when you suddenly need it.
-Endless stories in the group about how successful the stock picks have been (all from people in on the con)
-A bait and switch scenario where you start with stocks and suddenly ‘crypto’ becomes the next big thing to jump on board. Or maybe a divert into Forex trading.
-Phishing for account details
I could go on but hopefully you’ve got the message here.
Yesh, that’s a big fat no from me and another reminder that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. And if you think an unsolicited text message from random numbers at 3 in the morning is your guaranteed paths to riches, I think it’s time you put your phone down before you lose more than your shirt.
Now about this OneTell stock…