"Hi Dana, Rick from the funding desk. Easier to chat here than by phone. Your file is approved up to $85,000. Can I send the offer?"
Dana had hung up on Rick at 11:20 AM. At 11:24 AM, 4 minutes later, the message landed on her personal cell. Not as a text. As a WhatsApp chat, under a profile photo of a city skyline.
She never gave Rick that app. She never gave Rick anything.
Part 32 of Stop the Calls covers the chat-app close: one written line, two taps and one setting that shut a WhatsApp thread down.
General information, not legal advice. Dana, Rick and Copperline Tile and Stone, Dana's shop, are made up.
Why the pitch jumps apps
Carrier blocking (Part 13) and call screening (Part 5) are built for calls and texts on your number. A WhatsApp message arrives inside the app, so those filters don't see it.
The one-word STOP from Part 7 also gets murkier here. The FCC rule behind it talks about replies to text messages and calls (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)). It doesn't mention chat apps by name. So in WhatsApp, don't rely on one word. Write the whole sentence.
The tactic: the chat-app close
Dana did this before she typed anything else.
Screenshot the chat. Get the number, the profile name, the time and the first message.
Send one stop message, word for word:
"I don't want messages or calls from you on WhatsApp, text, phone or email. Remove this number and my business from every list you have, and don't share or sell them. This is my written stop request."
Block and report. In the chat, tap the contact name, then Block, and check Report to WhatsApp. WhatsApp says a report sends it up to five of the sender's last messages, and the sender isn't notified (WhatsApp Help Center).
Turn on one setting. Go to Settings, then Privacy, then Advanced, and turn on Block unknown account messages. WhatsApp says it blocks unknown accounts only when they send a high volume, not every stranger, so it's a floor, not a wall (WhatsApp Help Center).
Lock your groups. WhatsApp lets you change your privacy settings so unknown contacts can't add you to groups. A blocked sender in a shared group can still see your messages there.
Log it. Add a row in the call log template with "WhatsApp" in the channel column, plus the screenshot.
Rick wrote back once. "No worries! Offer stays open till Friday."
Dana didn't answer that. She blocked, reported and logged it. Total time: under a minute.
AI assist: paste the chat into any AI chat and ask it to list every claim the sender made, with the time of each. That's your log row, done.
The rules behind the close
WhatsApp's own business policy. Businesses on WhatsApp may only contact people who gave them their number and opted in. They must also respect any request, on or off WhatsApp, to opt out of messages from them (WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy). That's a platform rule, not a law, and it covers WhatsApp for Business accounts.
The 10 business day clock. Under FCC rules, a stop request made in any reasonable way must be honored within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)). How that applies to an app chat depends on the facts.
Your shop's number. Business lines are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry at all. It's for personal numbers (FTC Do Not Call FAQs, 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)). Most business-to-business calls also fall outside the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310.6). The federal statute is 47 U.S.C. 227, and what it covers depends on the line and how they reached you.
If a chat asks for a bank login or an upfront fee, stop and read Part 25, then report it at ReportFraud.FTC.gov. Want to know who handed Rick your cell? Part 6 traces lead sellers.
Nothing here promises an outcome. The Know Your Rights series, the MCAFax toolkit, our guide to stopping MCA broker calls and the Stop the Calls hub go deeper.
Your checklist
- Screenshot before you reply.
- Send the full-sentence stop, not one word.
- Block and check Report to WhatsApp.
- Turn on Block unknown account messages.
- Stop strangers from adding you to groups.
- Log the chat with "WhatsApp" as the channel.
Coming in Part 33: the pitch that shows up in your LinkedIn or Instagram DMs, and how to lock down who can message your business pages.
