WhatsApp launched its most-awaited feature of video calling a few days back and people seem to have started having problems due to the video calling feature.
A message asking people to invite users by linking on a link has started making rounds on WhatsApp. The link if clicked, disrupts the cellphones internal programming and corrupts the phone, data recovery in such cases becomes difficult.
THE WHATSAPP VIDEO CALLING INVITE IS FAKE
The WhatsApp video feature was tested for months before it was released on Android, I-phone and Windows phones. As the news of the video calling rollout hit the Web, many users started receiving and sharing an unverified link on WhatsApp, claiming to be an invite link to activate WhatsApp video calling.
Please note that the invite link that has gone viral on WhatsApp is a fake, and clicking it could potentially expose your smartphone to harmful attacks.
WhatsApp used the invitation only system when it introduced audio calling last year. Audio calling could only utilized by people who had sent invites to their contact list. But this time, WhatsApp used update feature to incorporate video calling into the application.
The Facebook-owned company drifted into swift action when reports of ‘invitation links’ starting pouring in from all corners of the world. An official message saying that the link is in fact, a virus that can corrupt phones and therefore should not be clicked or forwarded was sent out by the company but by the damage was already done.
Official sources claim that the link has affected a large number of WhatsApp users all around the globe. Although steps have been taken to prevent duping on WhatsApp, success so far has been limited. This link has spread like wildfire and the authorities have been unsuccessful in tracing the origin of the link.
IT’S AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH UPDATE
The video calling feature is available in Google Play Store/ App Store or Windows Store only. The link is widely thought to be real because the link leads to a spoof site that looks like the original WhatsApp website.
But when inspected further, the spoof website uses an IP address that cannot be traced signalling that is an unauthorised website.
There is more than one link circulating right now. The links ‘whatsapp.org.videocallenable.com’ or ‘whatsappvideostart.com’ are actually fake ones but use the same colour scheme like the original website.
Thus do not forward or click on links that can be malicious and destroy your cell phone. Spread the awareness as much as you can. Make people aware so that they do not forward invitation links. People may lose out on valuable data and suffer problems due to one silly click or in the greed to use WhatsApp video call.
Read On:
http://edtimes.in/2016/10/whatsapps-upcoming-new-feature-could-make-it-an-all-in-one-app/
