Job scams are multiplying and costing victims thousands

Job scams are multiplying and the costs are also rising - Image (c) ConsumerAffairs

The secret sauce scammers are using is WhatsApp

If someone offered you a job promising you could make $6,000 a month but it winds up costing you thousands of dollars instead, the math on that isn’t so good, is it? 

That’s what’s happening as job scams continue to grow. The Federal Trade Commission reports that job scams now account for more than half of all scams. And the ones who get hit get hit hard. Victims are typically losing about $2,000 each.

Common tactics used by scammers include suspicious contact information, unrealistic salary offers and misleading job descriptions. Email – once the most common method for executing these scams – has now given way to text messages and, then, moving the conversation to WhatsApp.

In two recent job scams that ConsumerAffairs reviewed, a person was first pinged via text with a message that began like this:

(caller) “Hi, I'm Emma from VRBO hotels

I would like to introduce you to a part-time/full-time job that is a great online job. You can also work at home. ...

This job is part time

Time to help optimize data and rankings for major hotels around the world

  • You can work at home or anywhere.
  • Working hours (can be arranged freely)
  • Age 22-80
  • Earn from $ 2800-6200 per month.

The work is very simple. If you are interested in this job, can I refer you to (employer) to share more details with you? This way you can understand the job better.”

Who wouldn’t be interested? Work from anywhere, any age and as much as $6,200 a month is pretty enticing for anyone.

Travel job scams must be hot because it didn’t stop with VRBO

Only a few days went by and, then, this from another travel platform, Expedia.
Photo

After the target responded that they were interested in finding out more in both the VRBO and Expedia situations, WhatsApp came into play.

“OK, please check your SMS or WhatsApp and you will receive a message from the hiring manager (employer) with complete details. Thank you for your time," the text message read.

In an email to ConsumerAffairs Expedia Group apologized for the incident and said that it does not extend job offers via text message, email or on any other messaging tools to individuals to whom it has not made prior contact.

"Please never provide sensitive, personal information to someone unless you’re confident who the recipient is," a company representative said.

Why WhatsApp?

WhatsApp isn’t your typical scam cesspool like other social media platforms. Facebook, for example, has plenty of fake ads, fake news, romance scams and marketplace scams. 

Scammers have taken a shine to WhatsApp because WhatsApp's vast user base and ease of communication streamlines their efforts. 

The platform's anonymity allows scammers to easily create fake profiles or use unknown numbers to contact users, making it difficult for victims to verify the identity of the sender. The problem is made worse because many users remain unaware of WhatsApp's security risks, making them vulnerable to scams.

The emotional downside of these job scams

Just knowing how WhatsApp works in a scammer’s favor could save you from losing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. But the victimization goes much deeper than that.

Oliver Morrisey, lawyer at Empower Wills & Estate Lawyers, speaking about a new job scams report from Heimdal Security, highlighted the deeper effects of job scams, explaining how they can erode a person’s sense of fairness and justice.

According to Morrisey, victims often feel abandoned by regulatory bodies and law enforcement, which leaves them with a "lingering sense of injustice."

"This lack of closure, combined with the emotional fallout, creates long-term psychological scars that can last far beyond the financial damage. For some, it's not just a scam; it feels like their entire professional reputation and personal trust have been shattered,” he said. 

Stopping WhatsApp scammers in their tracks

WhatsApp is aware of what’s going on and it’s not too crazy about it either. It advises that if you’re asked to interact with a job recruiter – or anyone you don’t know for that matter – you should take these steps:

  1. Pause and think
    • Look out for suspicious behavior:
    • Are they using an unknown number?
    • Are they rushing you?
    • Are they being threatening or asking you to trust them?
    • Are they asking you to transfer money or share a password, pin or personal information?
  2. Stop the conversation
    • Hang up a call or stop replying to the user. If you can’t verify the contact’s identity, do not share any personal or financial information.
  3. Block and report
    • Block the user to stop them from contacting you and report them to WhatsApp. Learn how to block and report in this article.
  4. Update your privacy and security settings
    • Adjust your privacy settings to control who can see your personal information and contact you. You can also enable two-step verification to better secure your account.

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