'We Found Your Phone' Message with a Tracking Link on WhatsApp

How it looks on WhatsApp, the red flags and what to do.

WhatsApp is private and fast, which scammers like: a "wrong number" chat can turn into a task, an investment tip or a payment request within minutes. 'We Found Your Phone' Message with a Tracking Link is one of the ways this shows up: After you lose a phone, a message says it was found and asks you to click a link or pay a fee. The link steals your cloud login or money.

What 'we found your phone' message with a tracking link looks like on WhatsApp

• A friend or relative asking for urgent money from a new number or a hacked account.
• A group invite promising returns, jobs or prizes.
• A PDF, APK or image that must be opened to "see the details".

The set-up is timing. Thieves who stole a phone want to remove the owner's lock on it. They may use the number on the lock screen, a message in lost mode, or a phone's SIM to send messages. Others simply watch social posts and chat groups for someone saying they lost a phone and then send a text. The message mimics a real location alert and includes a link to a login page that looks like the maker's own.

Red flags to check on the WhatsApp message

• A message about your lost phone includes a link and asks for your account login.
• The sign-in page address does not match the maker's official site.
• A code or password is requested to 'confirm ownership'.
• A finder asks for a reward before returning the phone.
• A new number says it is someone you know and asks for money; call the real person on the old number first.
• You are added to a group full of people praising profits.

What to do

1. Use only the official find-my-device feature from your phone maker's website typed by hand, or Safeavio's portal if you set it up.
2. Do not tap links in messages about a found phone.
3. Lock or erase the phone remotely from the official tool, and change your account passwords.
4. Open the chat, tap the contact name and choose Block and report.
5. If it was a "friend", call them on the number you already have and ask.
6. Turn on two-step verification in WhatsApp settings so a stolen SMS code is not enough.

Inside WhatsApp use Block and report; for numbers that call or text you, the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) also takes complaints.

If money or a code is already gone

1. If money was sent or accounts were accessed, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.
2. Call your bank on the number on your card and ask to block cards and UPI on that phone.
3. Change email, cloud and banking passwords from a safe device.
4. Report the loss to the police with the phone's details.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If you set up Safeavio Sentinel's anti-theft before the loss, the owner's portal at safeavio.com can locate, ring, lock and show a lost-mode message on the phone, and the SIM-change alert and recovery information help. These work only if the phone is on, online and was set up earlier. Link check can test a link from a 'found phone' message. Safeavio cannot stop a thief who switches the phone off.

Full guide: 'We Found Your Phone' Message with a Tracking Link: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: SMS, email, phone call.

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