UK watchdog investigates calls asking people to connect on WhatsApp

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating a rise in complaints about automated calls in which a recorded voice asks recipients to add a number on WhatsApp. The ICO received more than 3,600 complaints about automated calls in September, the BBC reports — a five-year high and nearly three times the July total. [1]

Andy Curry, the ICO’s head of criminal investigations, estimated that probably millions of people were receiving the messages. He said investigators were trying to find out who was behind the calls, why they were being made and what effect they were having on the public. [1]

Simon Fell, of the telecoms industry’s Communications Crime Strategy Group, said recruitment fraud was the most likely explanation. He had not followed up on the messages, however, and could not be sure what form any scam might take. BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours added one of the numbers on WhatsApp and received a message offering flexible part-time work. [1]

The ICO advises people to ignore calls from numbers they do not recognise, and to block and report suspicious calls to the watchdog. [1]