The latest warning comes after social media Users Shared Experiences of being scammed on the platform, which has more 23 million users in the country.

Whatsapp logo

JOHANNESBURG - Cyber security experts have called on Whatsapp users to be vigilant as con artists look to make a quick buck on the popular social media platform.

The latest warning comes after social Media Users Shared experiences of being scammed on the platform, which has more 23 million users in the South Africa.

Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has also given insight on how a scammer swindled her of more than R10,000.

READ: Sim swap scam: Consumers urged to be more cautious on Whatsapp

Lucas Molefe, a technical consultant at internet security company ESET, said common scams include fake job offers and fake investment offers.

Molefe said scammers use social engineering techniques to get personal information.

"Social engineering is basically when someone plays with human vulnerabilities. They know you are technically inclined, but you are vulnerable...you need money and someone is offering you an investment and you think 'this is going to work for me', or you need romance. Now the person trying to basically steal or get something from you acts as a solution but they are not a solution, they are the biggest threats in your life."

READ: How not to get scammed on Whatsapp: Vodacom shares tips against scam

Molefe said users could take some precautions.

"Stop having passwords as your date of birth because it's easy to pick up your date of birth. Your work card has your date of birth. That means if a person has your date of birth, they are able to access your whole life so use a different password or change your password on random occasions."