- There are reports of a WhatsApp username impersonation problems
- WhatsApp and Meta say popular names are reserved
- India wants to see the rollout of username reservations paused
WhatsApp is launching a username feature later this year, to enable you to add contacts without revealing your phone number — but while handle reservations have gone live for many users, there are reports that username impersonation is already an issue.
As per testing done by TechCrunch, usernames very similar to Indian politicians, celebrities, business figures, and public institutions are available. They include ‘indiamodi’ (for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and ‘shahrukh.actor’ for Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
This focus on India is because authorities in the country have already asked WhatsApp to put a pause on username reservations. As per the BBC, the Indian government suggests that WhatsApp usernames could “increase cybercrimes” such as online fraud and phishing scams — already big concerns in the country.
The thinking is that usernames could allow scammers to operate without revealing their numbers (which may get picked up in blacklists). If those scammers are also impersonating well-known figures, then the problems are compounded.
Get in line
Username reservations are here, as more and more people claim theirs, here’s answers to the top questions you’re asking ⬇️Q: Are usernames mandatory?A: Nope, they are optional.Q: What if the username I want isn’t available?A: There’s a few reasons you might not be able to…July 1, 2026
WhatsApp has seen this coming. When announcing the feature, it said that handles for well-known individuals would be reserved for those people — including usernames for politicians, VIPs, and other celebrities.
“People are making false claims about reserving popular or well-known usernames,” says WhatsApp. “This isn’t true, only the legitimate account owners are able to reserve well-known public-figure names.” The same line was repeated by WhatsApp owner Meta when contacted by TechCrunch.
However, it’s not clear how many variations of famous names and identities are covered by this block. It seems that with enough imagination, working alternatives can be found — though of course once you start dropping in different spellings, numbers, and extra words, the username impersonation becomes less convincing.
It’s a challenge that all social platforms have to deal with, including the Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook. With WhatsApp though, the connection is more direct and the potential scams are more plausible — which may affect the feature’s rollout worldwide.
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