How to Verify a Suspicious WhatsApp Conversation with Screenshots

Scammers have changed channels. As SMS filtering improved, fraud moved to messaging apps: WhatsApp, iMessage, RCS. In France, fake bank advisor scams rose by 159% in 2025 (Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr), and the approach very often starts with an innocent-looking WhatsApp or text conversation. These channels are end-to-end encrypted, so no filter can inspect them along the way. That is precisely why a screenshot is the best way to get a suspicious conversation checked.

The fake bank advisor scam, step by step

This is the scenario currently doing the most damage. It almost always follows the same script:

1. Contact out of the blue. A message or call from "your bank's fraud department". The name and logo look right, the tone is professional and reassuring.
2. A fabricated emergency. "Suspicious payments are being made from your account right now." Fear is the engine of the whole scam.
3. The switch to a private channel. The "advisor" continues on WhatsApp, where no bank ever conducts security operations.
4. The fatal request. Transfer your money to a "secure account", read out the code you just received, or approve a payment in your banking app. A real bank never asks for any of these.

Red flags in a conversation

• Pressure to act immediately, before you can think or call anyone
• A request for secrecy: "don't mention this to your branch, the investigation is confidential"
• Any request for codes (SMS codes, card PIN, app validation)
• A "secure account" that money should be moved to: this account belongs to the scammer
• A change of channel: from a call or SMS to WhatsApp
• Messages from a mobile number claiming to be a bank, the police or the tax office

Check the whole conversation, not just one message

A single message can look harmless. The manipulation shows in the sequence: the fake urgency, then the isolation, then the request for money. That's why Luminir now analyzes entire conversations.

Here's how it works:

1. Take screenshots of the conversation (WhatsApp, iMessage, SMS, Messenger…): up to 12 images.
2. In the Luminir app or on luminir.io, choose Conversation, then Screenshots.
3. Add your screenshots in conversation order, from the beginning to the most recent message.
4. Our AI reads the images, rebuilds the conversation and checks it against the tactics of fake bank advisors, romance scams, fake family emergencies, investment fraud and blackmail.
5. In a few minutes you get a clear verdict (safe, suspicious or dangerous) with the exact messages that triggered the alert.

Your screenshots are analyzed for your security only, never shared, and deleted automatically after a short retention period.

If you are in doubt right now

• Do not transfer anything, do not read out any code, do not approve anything in your banking app.
• Hang up, then call your bank yourself using the number on the back of your card.
• Have the conversation analyzed with Luminir before replying.
• If money has already been transferred, contact your bank immediately and file a police report.

The best protection against manipulation is a second opinion. Luminir gives you one in minutes, whenever you need it.