Delete old contacts on WhatsApp for this reason
WhatsApp is the most widely used instant messaging app in the world. This means billions of people communicate through it, a fact that cybercriminals are keen to exploit to carry out fraud attempts. There are several ways we can be exposed to WhatsApp fraud, one of which is not deleting old contacts.
If we have a lot of contacts, some of whom we haven't spoken to in years, they may have changed their numbers without our knowledge. This means that old numbers could be used by someone else, people you don't know, which could pose some privacy concerns.
Many telecom companies may reuse numbers that were previously owned by other people. This can be for a number of reasons: from the person canceling the number to the telecom company itself simply deactivating it. This means that a number belonging to one of your contacts may belong to someone you don't know.
For example, scammers can also use these numbers, which may be from your old contacts. Suddenly, they may start a conversation with you, opening the door to any type of identity theft scam. On WhatsApp, this number will appear with the name of the contact you previously saved.
Even if you've never spoken to them, your phone will display the contact's name, which could easily be a friend or family member, now belonging to someone you don't know. So, if an acquaintance tells you they're changing their number, it's best to delete that number and add the new one to avoid any problems.