WhatsApp scams: how to spot them and what to do if it happens to you
The code “sent by mistake”, the relative with a new number, the fake bank agent, the job that pays for likes and the AI-cloned voice. How the most common scams in the Dominican Republic work, how to lock down your account in five minutes and where to report them.
In my talk El futuro se protege hoy (The future is protected today), I ask the whole room to turn on WhatsApp’s two-step verification before they leave. I do it because messaging scams are not movie material: in the first quarter of 2025, the Dominican Cyber Police arrested 148 people for technology crimes, and 82 of those cases were scams (Policía Nacional). At the end of 2024, the police said they were receiving more than 1,500 complaints a month about this kind of crime.
Almost none of these scams needs a hacker. They need someone, in a hurry or scared, to do what the message asks. So the first step is to know the scripts.
The scripts that keep coming back
1. “I sent you a code by mistake”
Someone tries to register your number on WhatsApp on their phone. WhatsApp sends you a code by text message, and the scammer writes to ask you to forward it: “sorry, a code of mine went to you”, “it’s for a vote”, “I’m from WhatsApp support”. The message often comes from the account of a friend who was already hacked. With that code they take over your account and start asking your contacts for money in your name. In June 2026 the police warned about a version that opens with “I have something important to tell you, add me on WhatsApp”.
The rule: that code is never shared with anyone. WhatsApp will not ask you for it in a chat.
2. “It’s me, I changed my number”
A son, a cousin or a friend writes from a new number with an emergency and an account to deposit into. If their account was stolen first (the previous script), the message comes from their usual number, with their photo. In January 2026 the Cyber Police arrested several people over cases like these: one victim had deposited RD$55,000 and another RD$39,900 (Policía Nacional).
The rule: before sending money, call the person on their usual number or ask them something only they would know.
3. The fake bank agent
A message with your bank’s logo says your account was blocked or that there is a strange charge, and asks for the code you just received, your one-time key or for you to “confirm” your details. In July 2026 the police arrested ten people who posed as representatives of financial institutions to get security codes and one-time keys. Banreservas says it plainly on its site: it never asks for confidential information through WhatsApp or Telegram (Banreservas).
The rule: hang up and call the bank yourself, on the number on the back of your card.
4. The job that pays for likes
“Earn money from home by liking posts.” At first they really pay you, a little, to win your trust. Then they ask you to “invest” or buy cryptocurrency to unlock better-paid tasks, and that’s the end of it. One of the cases documented by the police cost a person RD$309,909 (Diario Libre).
The rule: a job that asks you for money to get started is not a job.
5. Prizes, raffles and miracle investments
“You won”, but to collect you have to pay a “tax” first. Or an “investment” group where everybody makes a lot of money, fast. In the January cases I mentioned above, another victim paid RD$107,435 for a fake investment scheme offered on Telegram.
The rule: if you have to pay to receive a prize, there is no prize.
6. The cloned voice
With a few seconds of audio taken from your social media, artificial intelligence can already imitate a voice. The scammer sends a voice note from a relative who had an accident or was arrested and needs money now (CDN). My advice for families: agree on a code word that only you know, and ask for it when something sounds off.
7. The fake profile of someone well known
It even happens to government officials: in 2024 several of them had their WhatsApp stolen, including the president of the Senate, and their accounts were used to ask for money (El Nuevo Diario). Anyone with a public profile can have a fake account or number created in their name. That is why this site has the list of my official channels: I will never ask you for money, passwords or codes by message, and if you see a profile that claims to be me and is not on that list, report it here.
Lock down your WhatsApp in five minutes
Open WhatsApp and go to Settings (on Android, in the three dots at the top):
- Two-step verification (Settings > Account). It is a PIN that is required every time someone registers your number on a phone, so the text-message code alone is no longer enough to steal your account; WhatsApp is turning it into a full password. Add your email: if you ever forget it, you can use it to recover it.
- Passkeys (Settings > Account). They let you verify your account with your fingerprint, your face or your screen lock instead of a text-message code. According to WhatsApp, more than a billion people already use them (WhatsApp).
- Linked devices. Check from time to time which computers have your WhatsApp open. If you see one that isn’t yours, log it out.
- Silence unknown callers (Settings > Privacy > Calls) and the privacy checkup, which walks you through the most important settings.
- Strict account settings (Settings > Privacy > Advanced), if you get a lot of messages from strangers: it blocks files and media sent by people who are not in your contacts.
Another new help: when someone who is not in your contacts adds you to a group, WhatsApp shows you a safety overview of the group before you start chatting. Read it before you stay.
If it already happened
- Get your account back. Open WhatsApp on your phone, register again with your number and enter the code you receive by text message: once you verify your number, the other person loses access. If it asks for a PIN you don’t know, the thief turned on two-step verification and you will have to wait 7 days before you can get in without it.
- Warn your contacts another way (an Instagram story, a text message, a call): they should not send money or codes even if the message shows your name and photo.
- If you gave out bank details or sent money, call your bank right away to block cards and transfers. If the bank doesn’t solve it, you can file a claim with ProUsuario, at the Superintendency of Banks: 809-731-3535 (also on WhatsApp) or *778, free from a mobile phone (ProUsuario).
- Keep the evidence and report it. Screenshots, numbers and deposit receipts. You can report online at denuncias.policia.gob.do, which has a cybercrime section, or in person with the National Police; these cases are investigated by the Cyber Police (formerly known as Dicat). Electronic fraud and identity theft are crimes: articles 15 and 17 of Law 53-07 on high-technology crimes punish them, and the new Criminal Code, in force since August 2026, has its own articles on identity theft and fraud.
- Report the number on WhatsApp (in the chat, tap the name and then Report). WhatsApp closes accounts over this: in the first half of 2025 alone it removed more than 6.8 million linked to scam centers (Meta).
The rule that sums it all up
Urgency, fear and a link or a code: when they show up together, stop. No real emergency gets worse because you took two minutes to call the person on their usual number. In 5 cybersecurity habits I explain other habits that help, and on Tech Talk we went deep into it with Nelk Valerio.
If your school, university or company would like the talk El futuro se protege hoy, write to me. And share this with the person in your family who needs it most: it is almost always the one who reads these articles the least.
