WhatsApp: Your account has been blocked ": You need to know this via email

Currently emails with the subject "WhatsApp: Your account has been blocked" are in circulation. If you receive such a message, you should be careful. We explain what you need to know about it.

"WhatsApp: Your account has been blocked" - dubious mails in circulation

WhatsApp users and the "Mimikama" page are currently warning of emails that indicate in the subject that the recipient's account has been blocked. This is the striking thing about the mails:

• At first glance, the email looks like it comes from WhatsApp.
• The subject already says that the reader's WhatsApp account has been blocked.
• In the mail, the reader is asked to update his payment information because it is said to be incorrect. He has 24 hours to do this, otherwise his account will be deactivated.
• If you read the mail more closely, you will notice the many spelling and grammatical errors.
• If you continue to click on the page on which you are supposed to renew your data, Mimikama says you will end up on a website where you should select a payment model and enter your data such as credit card number, date of birth and name. However, you should never do that.

Why the mail is definitely not from WhatsApp

There are a few pointers to help you recognize that the senders of the email are scammers and not WhatsApp itself.

1. The bad German is an indication that the text was not written by a reputable sender.
2. WhatsApp itself does not send messages of this type to its users.
3. Third-party sites to which you are redirected and on which you are asked to provide data are usually phishing sites. These are used by fraudsters to get the information from unsettled users.
4. WhatsApp is currently a free app. You do not currently have to pay for the service and there is currently no information that this will change in the near future.
5. Note: In another tip, we explain how you can protect yourself from phishing.