WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal messages

The name and photo at the top of a chat don’t tell you who’s typing.

If it’s happening now

A friend’s account is asking for money. Don’t answer in the chat. Call their regular phone number the normal way, not with the call button in the app: if someone else has their account, that call rings them. If your friend doesn’t pick up, don’t send anything until they do.

A new number says it’s your kid, or a friend with a new phone. Call the old number. More: Someone claiming to be family needs money.

Someone wants a code that “came to your phone by mistake.” It’s your code. WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal all say never to share it with anyone. WhatsApp adds: not even friends or family. Whoever has it can sign in to your account on their phone.

A link wants you to enter a code in WhatsApp, or scan a QR code, to see a photo. Close it. That code connects their computer to your WhatsApp.

Someone you don’t know added you to a group about stocks, crypto, or paid tasks. Leave it, and report it as you go. When someone who isn’t in your contacts adds you, WhatsApp shows a summary of the group with an option to exit, so you don’t have to open the chat.

A stranger texts “Sorry, wrong number” and keeps chatting. Don’t reply. Block and report. Investment scams often start this way: An investment that can’t lose.

A message says it’s from WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal support. Don’t reply. Signal’s only official chat is one you can’t reply to. Inside Telegram, real login codes arrive only in the chat named Telegram, with a blue check. A request for your code is the scam on any of them. Report and block.

What to say

• Hey, it's me. I just got a WhatsApp from you asking for money. Was that you? If it wasn't, someone's in your account.

• It's me. I got a WhatsApp from you asking for money. Call me back at this number before I send anything.

• Someone got into my WhatsApp. If you got a message from me asking for money, a code, or to open a link, it wasn't me. Don't send anything.

• I sent money to someone pretending to be a friend on WhatsApp. I need to report it as a scam and ask you to stop or reverse it. Can I get a case number?

If something already left your hands

If money left, call your bank first (You sent money). Then, before you block, leave the group, or delete anything, screenshot the chat and the sender’s number or username.

You sent the code, or you’re locked out

WhatsApp. Open WhatsApp on your phone, log back in with your number, and enter the 6-digit code it sends you. That signs everyone else out. If it asks for a two-step PIN or password you never set, the other person probably set it. WhatsApp says to wait 7 days and try again. Don’t report your own account to WhatsApp before you have it back: WhatsApp says it may ban it.

Telegram. If Telegram is still open on any device of yours, go to Settings > Devices and end every session you don’t recognize. Then turn on Two-Step Verification under Settings > Privacy and Security.

Telegram, signed out everywhere. Sign in with the code Telegram sends you. If it asks for a password you never set, someone else set it: tap Forgot password. If you can’t get into the recovery email, the way back is resetting the account, which deletes your old chats. Telegram may make you wait 7 days first.

Signal. Register your number in Signal again, then turn on Settings > Account > Registration Lock.

No service on your phone? Someone may have moved your number to their SIM card. WhatsApp can’t recover an account without a SIM card that has the same number. My phone suddenly has no service.

Then tell your contacts, by text, email, or a post, that anything sent from your account in the meantime wasn’t you. Full recovery steps: Someone got into my account.

You entered a code or scanned a QR code from a link

In WhatsApp, open Linked devices (the three-dot menu on Android; Settings or the You tab on iPhone), tap each device you don’t recognize, and log it out. Signal: Settings > Linked devices. Telegram: Settings > Devices. Warn your contacts the same way. The link may already have gone out from your account. Your phone keeps working the whole time, so don’t wait for something to look wrong.

You sent money

Call your bank (the number on the back of your card) before anything else, or contact the payment app from inside the app: I paid or sent money. Money you sent yourself, by Zelle, a payment app, wire, gift card, or crypto, may count as authorized and often doesn’t come back. Ask them to stop or reverse it anyway, and to put any refusal in writing. If they say no, file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For a wire or crypto, file at ic3.gov at the same time as you call the bank.

Anyone who then offers to get it back for a fee is running a second scam: Someone offers to get my money back.

You gave a password, card number, or ID

Steps for each: I gave out a code, password, or card number.

What it looks like

4:12 p.m. A WhatsApp from Carol, a friend you've known for years. Her number is saved in your phone.

WhatsApp Carol Mendez

Today 4:12 PM

Hey are you around?

Hi! Yes, what's up?

I hate to ask. My bank card got blocked after a fraud alert and the new one won't come till Friday

Biscuit needs surgery today and the vet wants payment before 5

Could you Zelle $480 straight to the clinic? (503) 555-0147, it'll show as Dr. Patel. I'll pay you back Friday, I promise

Please don't call, I'm in the waiting room and can't talk

It's Carol's real WhatsApp, with years of your chats above this. What do you do?

• Tap the call button in this chat so you can hear her
• Call Carol's regular number the normal way, not through WhatsApp, even though she asked you not to
• Ask her something only Carol would know before you send it

Show the answers

• Wrong move Tap the call button in this chat so you can hear her A WhatsApp call rings whoever has Carol's account right now. If that's a stranger, they decline it and type that they can't talk. You've learned nothing.
• Best move Call Carol's regular number the normal way, not through WhatsApp, even though she asked you not to A normal phone call goes to her phone, not to whoever is typing in this chat. If it's really Carol, she'll pick up or call back, and you can help her then. Asking you not to call is how they keep you in the chat.
• Wrong move Ask her something only Carol would know before you send it Her dog's name and her vet may be on her Facebook. If someone linked their computer to her WhatsApp, they may be able to read back through your old chats for the answer. A right answer proves nothing.

The name at the top is the name you saved for that number. It stays the same whoever has the account. Call her regular number.

Mike from your running group sent a WhatsApp saying he'd found a photo of you, with a link. You tapped it and typed in your phone number. This page opened, and a WhatsApp notification popped up.

fotopost-viewer.life/login/post

Photo viewer

Confirm it's you to see this photo.

WhatsApp has sent you a notification. Tap it and enter this code:

K7PW-2QXR

The photo opens as soon as you confirm.

What do you do?

• Enter the code. You're typing it into WhatsApp, not giving it to anyone
• Close the page without entering anything, then call Mike on his phone number
• Reply to Mike in the chat and ask if he really sent it

Show the answers

• Wrong move Enter the code. You're typing it into WhatsApp, not giving it to anyone That code links someone else's browser to your WhatsApp as a new device. They can read your chats, see new ones as they arrive, and send this same message to everyone you know. Your phone keeps working, so you may never notice.
• Best move Close the page without entering anything, then call Mike on his phone number Nothing is linked until you enter the code. Mike's account was probably linked the same way, and he may not know. Tell him to check his linked devices.
• Okay Reply to Mike in the chat and ask if he really sent it Safe as long as you don't enter the code. But whoever sent the link may be reading Mike's chats and can answer as him, so the reply tells you nothing.

Linking your own laptop works the same way, except you start it on the laptop in front of you. When a link in a chat started it, the device is theirs. Don't enter the code.

Three weeks ago you tapped an ad for free stock picks and landed in this WhatsApp group. You bought $300 of the first pick in your own brokerage account. It's up 41%.

WhatsApp Hale Market Learning Club 12

Today 9:02 AM

Good morning, members. Professor Hale's 9:30 signal is ready.

Today's stock is a small biotech ahead of FDA news this week. The professor expects 150% to 200%.

Up 41% on last week's pick. Thank you Professor!

Just bought 8,000 shares. Never seen anything like this group.

The professor covers any member's losses on this one. Message me privately for the ticker before 9:30.

The first pick really is up, in your own account. What do you do?

• Buy a little of today's stock and sell as soon as it jumps
• Look up Professor Hale on Investor.gov first
• Stop buying, leave the group, and report it on the way out

Show the answers

• Wrong move Buy a little of today's stock and sell as soon as it jumps The price goes up because the whole group is buying at once. The people running it already own the stock and sell it to the group at the top. You can't see when they'll sell, and whoever is still holding when they do takes the loss.
• Okay Look up Professor Hale on Investor.gov first Worth doing, but these groups impersonate real, registered professionals. A match doesn't mean the group is theirs. The SEC says never to rely on a group chat alone for investment decisions. To check a firm, call the number in its paperwork on Investor.gov, not one from the group.
• Best move Stop buying, leave the group, and report it on the way out The FBI lists pressure to buy fast ahead of a government approval, and a promise to cover your losses, as signs of this scheme. Your 41% is real so far. Don't add money because of this group. Report it in WhatsApp and at ic3.gov.

A pick that went up doesn't make the group honest. The first pick going up is what gets members to buy the next one, the one the people running it are about to sell.

What they’ll ask for

“I sent a 6-digit code to your number by mistake. Can you send it to me?” It’s your account’s code. Send it and you lose the account, and your contacts get the same message next.

“Hey, I just found your photo,” with a link. The page asks for your phone number, then shows a code to type into WhatsApp. That code adds their computer to your account. Close the page.

“Enter this code in WhatsApp to confirm.” Before you confirm, WhatsApp shows the device’s name and location. If it isn’t the computer in front of you, stop there. If WhatsApp asks whether to link a device it doesn’t recognize, tap Don’t link.

“Can you send it straight to the clinic? My card’s blocked.” The money goes to someone who isn’t your friend. Call your friend’s regular number first.

“Join our free stock club. The professor’s AI signals are up 40% this month.” Leave the group and don’t buy what it names. Some push a cheap stock up, then sell their own shares while members are still buying. Others move you to a trading app that shows profits, then want a fee or “tax” before you can withdraw. Don’t pay it: the SEC says you won’t get any of your money back. If you’ve already sent money, start with You sent money and report it at ic3.gov. More: An investment that can’t lose.

“Like these videos and get paid. Deposit to unlock the next tasks.” They may pay you a few dollars first. Then the next tasks need a deposit, often in crypto. Stop at the first request to pay. More: A job offer that seems too easy.

Set these once

WhatsApp. Account is under Settings (on Android, tap the three dots first; on iPhone, Settings or the You tab). There, add a passkey under Passkeys and turn on Two-step verification. Newer versions ask for a password instead of a 6-digit PIN. Add an email so you can reset it. Then set Privacy > Groups to My contacts, so strangers can’t add you. Invite links still work, but joining by link is your choice.

Telegram. Settings > Privacy and Security > Two-Step Verification. Use a password you don’t use anywhere else, and a recovery email you control. Then add a passkey under Settings > Privacy and Security > Passkeys.

Signal. Settings > Account > Registration Lock.

With these on, the code the app texts you isn’t enough on its own to take over your account. They don’t stop a device you link yourself, including one you were tricked into linking. Check Linked devices (Devices in Telegram) now and then and log out anything you don’t recognize.

Voicemail. If your voicemail has no password, or still has the one it came with, change it. WhatsApp can deliver its code as a phone call, and a call you don’t answer can leave the code in your voicemail.