Invite to Activate WhatsApp Stickers: Scam

Story:

Hey, I am inviting you to activate (?) WhatsApp Stickers. Click here to activate –> http://www.WhatsApp-Stickers.com

Analysis:

A message forwarded through free messaging service WhatsApp comes as an invite to activate WhatsApp Stickers by simply following the link in it. Chat Stickers are a bundle of big emoticon smileys that are animated for fun sake. Let us analyze the authenticity of the claim.

Picture of WhatsApp Funny Stickers — WhatsApp Funny Stickers

About the Website

The website domain mentioned in the message WhatsApp-Stickers.com is registered for just one year, with the Registrant Name, Admin Name, and Tech Name all listed as ‘Registration Private’.

The Process a Scam

When we clicked the link in the message, we were redirected to IP address http://128.199.182.50/ where some instructions were given to enter WhatsApp Mobile Number for the Stickers Activation. To check the authenticity of the page, we entered a vague, non-numerical value in mobile number field. The page accepted the value, and then showed various status messages suggesting the updating of WhatsApp features. In the next step, to prove active user, we were asked to verify, and then were asked to send the message invite to 10 WhatsApp Friends and 3 Groups. Once done, we were simply taken to Surveys and other marketing offers. No wonder, there won’t be any such WhatsApp Stickers. As of this writing, WhatsApp did not release Stickers officially.

Screenshot of Invite to Activate WhatsApp Stickers

So the message invite to activate WhatsApp Stickers is simply another hoax and scam targeting unsuspecting users. Note that similar text story has been used in past in various scams relating to WhatsApp features.