‘Satanic Agents Looking for Blood ‘ WhatsApp Warning Hoax

The claims in the supposed warning are fanciful nonsense. Nobody in Khomas or anywhere else in the world has died just from receiving a phone call or text message. And, not surprisingly, there are no credible news or police reports that support the claims in the message in any way whatsoever.

According to a rather breathless message that is currently traversing the interwebs, especially in Namibia, Uganda, and some other African nations, WhatsApp users should beware of messages with specified numbers because the messages come from ‘satanic agents looking for blood through internet’. Supposedly, 11 people in Khomas, Namibia have already died after receiving calls from one of the numbers. The message begs you to save souls by sharing the information with everyone you know.

The message also warns that you should not accept a video titled ‘the dance of the Pope’ because it is a virus that will format your mobile phone.

Of course, the claims in the supposed warning are fanciful nonsense. Nobody in Khomas or anywhere else in the world has died just from receiving a phone call or text message. Not surprisingly, there are no credible news or police reports that support the claims in the message in any way whatsoever.

This is not the first hoax that has falsely claimed the people had died after receiving a ‘killer’ text message or call. Back in 2009, a message circulating in Egypt warned that people had suffered fatal brain hemorrhages after receiving a mobile phone text message. The bogus warning caused so much concern in the community that the Egyptian government was compelled to officially quell the rumours. A similar hoax message circulated in Pakistan in 2007.

These nasty and pointless prank messages cause unnecessary fear and alarm in communities and waste the time of police and government agencies who must calm the fears of concerned members of the public.

And, the warning about the ‘dance of the Pope’ virus is also a hoax that has been circulating for several months as a separate message. There is no virus like the one described in the message. It appears that the prankster who created the ‘satanic agents’ warning has simply tacked on the fake ‘Dance of The Pope’ virus warning for good measure.

Update:

A later version of the hoax claims that the deaths occurred in Johannesburg and actually names a person as the supposed satanic agent. Of course, this version is just as absurd – and untrue – as its predecessor. But, this version is perhaps even worse than the original in that it unfairly maligns and could have a detrimental impact on the person it identifies.