look news india
The activism of cyber criminals and scammers on the instant messaging app WhatsApp, which has become an integral part of the daily lives of millions of people across the country and the world, has become a matter of serious national and global concern in the last few years. Common citizens are being looted of their hard-earned money through sophisticated scams like fraud in the name of part-time work from home jobs, fake cryptocurrency investments, lottery scams and ‘digital arrests’ which have increased rapidly in recent times. To keep users safe from these organized cyber attacks, Meta-owned WhatsApp is going to bring its biggest security update ever. The company is a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) based ‘Scam Alert’ The company is developing a system that will flash a threat warning on the user’s screen before any suspicious chat starts or progresses. The biggest feature of this new tool is that it will work on on-device machine learning technology without compromising on user privacy and end-to-end encryption.
How will WhatsApp’s new on-device AI ‘Scam Alert’ feature work?
This new security system of WhatsApp is based on an advanced on-device machine learning model. Whenever a user receives a message from an unknown number (Non-Contact) that is not saved in his/her contact list, the AI model inside the phone will instantly analyze the message structure, linguistic structure and conversation patterns.
This AI system is trained on the data patterns of thousands of scam chats that were previously reported as ‘spam’ or ‘fraud’ on WhatsApp by users around the world. WhatsApp will immediately display a clear warning within the chat window as soon as the system senses that the other person is deliberately trying to gain trust, create urgency in the conversation, ask for bank details or OTP, or offer financial inducement. It will read: “This may be a scam”.
End-to-end encryption will remain completely safe: Complete analysis will be done inside the phone itself.
Often whenever it comes to AI detection or content scanning on any messaging platform, the question that arises in the minds of common users is whether the company is reading their private messages? WhatsApp has found a completely technical solution to this concern. Meta has clarified that this scam alert system is completely On-Device Processing Will Work.
This simply means that the data for scanning your messages will never be sent to any external server or cloud of Meta or WhatsApp. A small AI model downloaded to your phone will analyze the messages in a secure environment within the device itself. WhatsApp’s world famous end-to-end encryption protocol will remain 100 percent intact. Neither Meta, nor any third party, nor any government agency will be able to read your personal conversations. This entire process will work silently in the background and the sender will not even be aware of it.
‘Trust warning’ screen will appear even before starting a conversation with an unknown number
Along with this AI scam alert, WhatsApp is adding another layered security layer called ‘Trust Warning’ It is being said. Whenever a user tries to open a chat box with an unknown phone number that he or she has never talked to before, the app will give a pause just before the chat window opens.
Important information will be shown to the user on this screen:
-
Which country’s country code is that phone number registered on?
-
Do you and that sender have any common WhatsApp group (Mutual Groups) or not?
-
Is this number linked to a verified business account?
Scammers often target Indian users by using virtual numbers from Vietnam (+84), Indonesia (+62), Pakistan (+92) or African countries. As soon as the user sees the foreign country code and zero common group on the screen, he will be immediately alerted and can exit or block that number without starting a chat.
There will be a direct ban on fake jobs, digital arrest and investment fraud.
WhatsApp has become a major means in cyber crime cases in India. This new AI feature will primarily be able to thwart the following deadly scams in time:
-
Part-Time YouTube/Google Review Job Scam: AI will flag bots sending tempting messages like “Earn ₹5,000 by working 2 hours a day” as soon as it recognizes their language.
-
Digital arrest and fraud by impersonating a police officer: Messages threatening and transferring money by impersonating a fake officer of CBI, Customs, ED or Mumbai Crime Branch will be identified.
-
Fake Crypto and Stock Market Tips: Links promising “Guaranteed 200% Returns” and leading to Telegram groups will be banned.
-
Scam of lottery and electricity bill reduction: Suspicious URLs sent for downloading fake APK files or for instant bill payment will be warned before the user opens them.
-
Romance and Emotional Extortion: The tricks of unknown people establishing emotional relationships by creating identities and then asking for emergency loans will be curbed.
Users will have complete control: option to block, report or trust.
This security model of WhatsApp has been made completely user-centric. This means that the AI system will not automatically delete or block any chat on its own will. When the scam alert warning appears on the screen, the user will be given three clear options:
-
Block and Report: If the user feels that the message is indeed fraudulent, he or she will be able to block the number forever in one click and send a report to WhatsApp.
-
Trust the Chat: If the message is from an acquaintance or a new coworker who has a new number, the user can select the ‘Trust’ option. After this the AI will remove the warning from that chat and will not show alerts on that number again in future.
-
Continue with Caution: If the user wishes, he can continue the conversation cautiously without taking any action.
When will this new feature reach all users’ phones?
Currently, WhatsApp has shared the technical details of this AI scam alert feature and has started its limited testing for select beta testers of Android and iOS. This feature is being made available as an optional toggle in the ‘Privacy & Security’ section of the app settings, which users can turn on or off as per their wish.
Once beta testing is completed and the accuracy of the AI model is tested, it will be rolled out as a stable update to all general users around the world in the coming months.
Opinion of cyber security experts: It is important to be careful with AI
Cyber security experts believe that this on-device AI model of WhatsApp will prove to be a historic milestone in the field of messaging security. However, experts have also advised that with any technological protection device, personal vigilance of the user is of utmost importance:
-
Never share bank OTP, password or PIN with any unknown person.
-
Do not click on any unknown APK (.apk) file or suspicious link in WhatsApp chat.
-
If someone scares you by pretending to be a government official or a bank manager, instead of panicking, disconnect the phone and contact the official helpline.
-
Always keep ‘Two-Step Verification’ on on your WhatsApp account.
This new step of WhatsApp proves that Artificial Intelligence is not only a means of communication but can also become the strongest shield to keep common citizens safe from the dangers of the digital world.