WhatsApp JOB SCAM?
In the current economic climate where consumer confidence is at an all-time low, and corporate layoffs are becoming more and more common place; it is common for one to feel insecure and want to explore ways to supplement one’s income. Under such pretext, this is where Scammers take advantage of us if we are not vigilant.
So what if you receive a WhatsApp saying you can earn “easy” money just by doing a few simple and easy tasks on your mobile? Too good to be true? Here’s an example of such tactics used by Scammers these days…
So, the Scammer in this case is claiming that she (not sure if that is true) is a “Shopee Activity Promoter” as her job.
However when you go to the Shopee Career home page and search for the Job Title “Shopee Activity Promoter”, there is no such job title. Therefore, Alarm bell #1.
https://careers.shopee.com.my/jobs?name=promoter&limit=50&offset=0
Above is the link for Shopee Career page which you can put in keywords to search for the type of job roles they have.
So now the scammer in question asks me to do a simple task on my mobile phone so I can “earn” my salary itself.
As you can see the tasks are fairly simple, all I had to do was the following.
- Click on the link provided to access a product page on Shopee.
- Click on the “like” button on that specific product page on Shopee for the specific seller.
- Capture a screenshot and send it back to the scammer as evidence that the task is completed.
At this point in time, the scammer is trying to establish a need on my side to be “compliant” and able to follow simple instructions so that I can be manipulated later.
I did what the scammer asked for then the scammer requested that I complete another 4 similar tasks and send the screenshots as well. This is to ensure I get a “sizable” salary for the task done. That is 1 like = RM$6, so 5 likes x RM$6 = RM30.
Next, comes the tricky part, the scammer asks me to provide my Personal Identifiable Information (PII) to them. Again, at this point they already know I’m a Shopee User (is there a leak of information here?) and my mobile phone number and my full name.
As I was busy trying to grab some dinner, I delayed my response to the scammer. As you can see from the WhatsApp chat, they even tried to call me via WhatsApp to create the urgency of wanting to pay me. Here it should ring Alarm Bell #2.
The next day I ask to get paid via Touch N Go e-wallet, but the scammer still insists that I provide my Personal Identifiable Information (PII). As we know if this was a genuine case of them wanting to pay me, all they need is my mobile phone number, name and their Touch N go e-wallet then they could just easily transfer my salary of RM$30 to me. So why keep on insisting that I need to provide more information? Again, Alarm Bell #3 should ring.
At this point, I decide to capture all the necessary screenshots of the scam itself and reported it to WhatsApp and block them altogether. Below is the phone number of the scammer in question.
The reason being with so many alarm bells ringing, I would classify this as a Job scam of sort. In summary for this type of WhatsApp Job Scam, you will see similarities as follows:
📌 Notification from a job that you did not apply for.
📌 The job description is vague and too good to be true.
📌 Contains typos and grammatical errors.
📌 Contacts you through informal chat mediums like WhatsApp or telegram.
📌 Enquires about the personal information that is irrelevant to the job.
Stay vigilant and please keep your Personal Identifiable Information (PII) to yourself and NOT share it with strangers that you just met on WhatsApp itself.
Personal Identifiable Information (PII) means “Any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means”.
If you have further questions, please contact us via email: Info@cybiant.com Please stay safe!