WhatsApp scam calls to be investigated

Automated calls asking you to add them to WhatsApp are being investigated by the UK's data watcdog after a spike in complaints.

The Information Commission's Office (ICO) says it received more than 3,600 reports about "robo calls" in September 2025, which is nearly three times the number it had in July and if a five-year high.

The calls, which are spoofed to look like they are coming from the UK mobile number, are believed to be linked a to a recruitment scam, where the message offers part-time work.

If you add the number to WhatsApp it may offer a link to through to a fake job listing which looks legitimate, but might lead to money muling - where criminal funds pass through your bank account in an attempt to launder it.

Simon Fell, from the Communications Crime Strategy Group says it also also be a simple phishing exercise where they are after your information to sell it on the dark web.

"The possibilities are endless," Fell told the BBC. "At the end of the day this is a criminal that has reached out to you and they're trying to defraud you in some way shape or form."

The ICO advises people to ignore calls from numbers they don't recognise, and to block and report any suspicious calls to the watchdog.

A WhatsApp spokesman told the BBC there were features in place to protect its users from scam calls, including silencing calls from unknown numbers. He also said WhatsApp banned millions of accounts each year for "malicious behaviours", such as bulk account registration or automated messaging.

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