Scams seem to have no end. If you use WhatsApp daily, pay close attention, because a new type of scam has emerged that uses one of the app's most useful features to empty your bank accounts and steal your personal information: the "screen sharing" scam. This method is especially dangerous because it doesn't rely on a virus or a technical glitch, but on psychological manipulation, a technique known as social engineering. Scammers create a sense of panic or urgency so that, without thinking twice, you hand over control of your device. The situation is so alarming that in August 2025 alone, Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, reported that it deleted more than 6.8 million accounts from the platform for being linked to scam hubs and criminal schemes. What does the screen sharing scam involve? The core of this scam is simple but effective: criminals try to get the victim to share their phone screen during a WhatsApp video call. By doing so, they can see in real time everything the person does on their device: from reading messages and notifications to watching them enter passwords into banking apps.

To achieve this, they combine three key elements:

Criminals exploit the victim's fear or curiosity, leading them to act impulsively. Once you share your screen, it's as if the scammer is looking over your shoulder, ready to capture every bit of data that appears on your phone.

The step-by-step process of the scam: This is how the scammers operate

To avoid being caught off guard, it's essential to understand the modus operandi of these criminals. The cybersecurity company ESET has analyzed and broken down the scam into five very clear steps:

In a digital world where threats are constantly evolving, technology alone is not enough to protect us. The "screen sharing" scam demonstrates that the most vulnerable link remains the human factor. This isn't a flaw in WhatsApp's system, but a trap that exploits our trust and fears. The best defense isn't antivirus software, but a combination of knowledge, skepticism, and secure habits. When faced with an unusual request,The best response is always the simplest: be suspicious, verify, and protect your information. At the end of the day, the security of your digital life is, quite literally, in your hands.