14 DAY TRIAL // Another hoax that claims WhatsApp will be shut down soon is making the rounds on social media websites. This time, the service is allegedly shutting down due to the “over usage of user names.”
Graham Cluley has spotted a variant of the messages. They read something like this:
“Whatsapp is shutting down on 28th jan Message from Jim Balsamic (CEO of Whatsapp) we have had an over usage of user names on whatsapp Messenger. We are requesting all users to forward this message to their entire contact list. If you do not forward this message, we will take it as your account is invalid and it will be deleted within the next 48 hours.
Please DO NOT ignore this message or whatsapp will no longer recognise your activation. If you wish to re-activate your account after it has been deleted, a charge of 25.00 will be added to your monthly bill.
We are also aware of the issue involving the pictures updates not showing. We are working diligently at fixing this problem and it will be up and running as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation from the Whatsapp team.”
This is not the first time such hoaxes are making the rounds. In fact, they’ve been around ever since the service became popular.
Variations of the hoax that names Jim Balsamic as the company’s CEO have been seen since at least November 2012.
If you come across such messages, simply ignore them. Don’t forward or share them. These hoaxes might not be malicious, but they can be just as bad as spam.
Furthermore, users who distribute these bogus warnings might also be fooled into forwarding other, malicious posts. In case you’ve already shared the “warning,” remove it from your feed.