WHATSAPP, Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge users have been warned so called “romance scammers” are looking to steal their private information.
Security experts say people are at risk of being hacked if they follow links to fake sites or enter their information on questionnaires.
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Anti-virus provider Kaspersky Lab issued the warning last week saying that bank accounts and personal details are at risk.
The new scams include surveys asking people about their experiences with WhatsApp and chain-mail messages.
Others may be sent fake invites to chat with “beautiful strangers” which is then used to glean private information.
Scammers are also said to be creating fake profiles on dating sites.
A Kaspersky report read: “In messenger-based spam, we continued to observe common tricks to get users to part with a small amount of money.”
WhatsApp, Facebook, and Gmail users were already warned earlier this month about a new Israeli surveillance startup, Paragon, that can “hack encrypted apps.”
A senior executive for Paragon told Forbes that the company would only sell its surveillance products to countries that abide by international norms and respect fundamental rights and freedoms.
The NSA last month advised turning your cell phone off and on again regularly can keep hackers at bay.
“Power the device on and off weekly,” according to the National Security Agency’s (NSA) “best practices” guide for mobile device security released last year.
“This is all about imposing cost on these malicious actors,” the NSA’s technical director of cybersecurity directorate Neal Ziring told the AP.
Microsoft says it receives around 6,500 complaints from people each month who have engaged in scams and lost money.
The company’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) is trying to address the problem by working with cops and educating customers.
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