How to Block Spam Messages on WhatsApp

Emails, instant messaging apps — nearly all communication mediums are vulnerable to spam. Even spam calls exist but blocking them is easy. If you’ve been using Whatsapp for a long time, you must have noticed an increase in the number of spam messages you receive in recent months.

Thankfully, WhatsApp makes it easy to block spam messages and easily report them. This ensures such spam messages are automatically blocked in the future. Here’s how to effectively block spam messages on WhatsApp.

Are Spam Messages in WhatsApp Dangerous?

To put it simply, spam messages put you at risk of identity theft. These may seem like innocent and promotional messages from random numbers but that’s what they want you to think. Responding to these messages further compromises the data that you share with Whatsapp.

Some of these messages also contain links that could lead to malware or phishing scams. Whenever you get a spam message, you should avoid clicking on any element on it as much as possible.

Now, this isn’t to say that all spam messages are dangerous. Some are really just intended to advertise or to get you to buy something. Considering that there are dangerous spam messages thrown in the mix, it’s best to stay safe and block them off entirely.

How to Block Spam Messages on Whatsapp

You can’t block spam messages directly. However, you can block the sender of the message so that they don’t get to do it again. Here’s how.

Look for the message thread with the spam message. Be careful so you don’t click on any of the elements within the message.
Tap on the sender of the message at the top left corner of the thread.
Look for Block Contact at the bottom of the next menu.

If you really feel like a spam message is fishy, you can tap on Report Contact as well. This automatically blocks the message sender and forwards the last five messages to WhatsApp. This will help them improve their spam detection system.

How to Know if a Message is a Spam?

For starters, the WhatsApp message could come from an unknown number. Spammers could try to attract you by offering a lucrative job, offers that are too good to be true, or suggest you to invest in crypto or bitcoin to make money.

Another red flag is shortened links. These most likely lead to malware or to phishing scams that will target your data.

Spam is a Lot More Serious than you Think

It’s easy to get annoyed by spam messages, but they’re more than just waste space in your inbox. The dangers they pose to your privacy and security online are both real. You’re doing yourself a huge favor by blocking spam on your WhatsApp immediately.

Your WhatsApp account is open to people who know your number. As such, you might want to know who’s viewed your profile so that you know who’s trying to scam you.