The Deputy Clerk Administration of the National Assembly, Mrs. Loveness Mayaka, acknowledged the increase in the prevalence of WhatsApp scams across the country. 
Speaking when she officially opened the awareness campaign programme on Digital Safety, particularly, WhatsApp, which was organised by the National Assembly of Zambia in collaboration with the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) held on 3rd February, 2025 at Parliament Buildings.  Mrs. Mayaka said utilising digital platforms responsibly begins with being aware of the risks associated with them, and how to mitigate against such risks. 
“This awareness raising programme is very important for us as we will gain critical knowledge and tools to enhance digital safety and security,” she said. 
Mrs. Mayaka further said hackers pose as friends or family to solicit money, fraudulent lottery and giveaway links that steal personal information, and fake job offers designed to extort money. Threats like these not only harm individuals but can also destabilise institutions even the nation if left unchecked.
Meanwhile, ZICTA Consumer Affairs Manager, Mr. Edgar Mlauzi noted the rising trend of theft of mobile phones country wide. He said over twenty thousand phones were reported stolen from January to December 2024.

Speaking at the event, ZICTA Consumer Affairs Officer, Mr. Anderson Situmbeko highlighted the types of online scams. He emphasised on common WhatsApp scams such as lottery and giveaways, loved ones in need, call forwarding, tech support and unauthorised verification code.
Mr. Stumbeko further provided steps to protect oneself against scammers, but not limited to the following; enable two-step authentication to secure your account; avoid calling numbers starting with **67* or *405* , as they forward calls to other numbers. He urged people not to follow unfamiliar code requests or click on suspicious links. He added that individuals should refrain from sharing personal information or verification codes with third parties. Additionally, he encouraged people to be cautious of unsolicited messages asking for money or requsting to join group meetings. He urged people to always verify recipients identity before sending money by voice call.