Hello
Long time lurker, first time poster etc etc…
Interested what you guys make of these WhatsApp messages I just received…
…I have no such booking…
Obviously this sort of scam/phishing nonsense is nothing new to me, but a few things stood out…
- They have my full name and phone number 😕
- I do use booking.com (but I suppose many do so they could assume…)
- This WhatsApp message has been marked as “using a secure service from Meta”… So this isn’t just a random phone (I have anonymous messages blocked) they have some sort of privilege on the platform… WTF
- They even have some special reply buttons at the end of the message.
- I just don’t get it… Like, what are the odds they guess the dates and hotel accurately that I would bite…? And having gone to this length, why then fall at the last hurdle by having a weird sender name like “Rus Education”…?
All the message means is that whoever it is is using a business account.
https://faq.whatsapp.com/64346092728323
"You’ll see the following messages, when a business chooses to:
Use a partner: You’ll see “This business works with other companies to manage this chat.”
Use the WhatsApp Business Platform Cloud API (Hosted by Meta): You’ll see “This business uses a secure service from Meta to manage this chat.”
If a business is using the WhatsApp Business app or managing and storing customer messages themselves, you’ll see: “Messages and calls are end-to-encrypted. Only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share them.”"
So, hypothetically, if I were running a scam, yeah, I’d set up a business account using the Platform Cloud API to get that sweet, sweet “secure service” note.