Tempting job offer on WhatsApp: This message turns out to be an expensive trap

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WHATSAPP

Have you been presented with a lucrative job offer on WhatsApp? Be careful, it’s not a quick buck, but a scam that will cost you dearly.

You should beware of job offers on WhatsApp. (Source: Primakov/depositphotos.com)

  • Fraudsters on WhatsApp want to lure you into a trap with a job offer.
  • The scam is particularly widespread in Germany.
  • We will explain to you how criminals want to get your money.

Cybercriminals send you scams not only in the form of phishing emails and fake apps, but also via WhatsApp. The grandchild trick is probably the most widespread in Messenger. However, another scam has now become established that you need to be particularly careful of.

A job offer serves as a pretext for the scam. The scammers promise you quick money for a simple job. If you are currently looking for a new job or have money worries, you fall right into the criminals’ pattern of prey.

  1. Dubious news circulating

  2. Fraud in the name of temporary employment agencies

  3. This is how the scam works

  4. This is how you protect yourself

Dubious news circulating

The procedure is always the same. An unknown number is writing to you. In the last case we have, it is a human resources consultant named Amy. She is reporting on behalf of the temporary employment agency ManpowerGroup. Apparently your application has arrived and Amy wants to find out if you are still interested.

You are supposedly being recruited on behalf of ManpowerGroup.

You are supposedly being recruited on behalf of ManpowerGroup. (Source: Screenshot Netzwelt)

Last year, similar texts made the rounds on WhatsApp. In one of the messages, Diana inquires on behalf of Avomid GmbH about your professional interest in the company.

Diana also wants to know if you are still looking for a job.

Diana also wants to know if you are still looking for a job. (Source: reddit)

A lady named Winona from Universal Hires also wants to know if you are still interested in a job since she has your application. In this case, Reddit user CartoonistPk got involved and responded to the message.

According to this user, the job offer will be described in more detail as the conversation progresses. You would supposedly get up to 30,000 per month for optimizing data and could organize your working hours freely. Further details should follow within 48 hours from the “responsible person” via WhatsApp. When asked whether the information could also be forwarded by email, Winona ended the conversation.

Don't go for this WhatsApp scam.

Don’t go for this WhatsApp scam. (Source: reddit)

Fraud in the name of temporary employment agencies

Both ManpowerGroup, Avomid GmbH and Universal Hires are companies that actually exist and are based in Germany. These are always job brokers or temporary employment agencies. Some of these employers have a somewhat questionable and sometimes outdated website. Therefore, the thought can quickly arise that these could be fake companies.

However, this does not apply to ManpowerGroup. The company warns on its own homepage about job scamming in its name and shows how you can recognize the scam. You can also send a suspicious message to [email protected]. Support will then tell you whether it is an attempted scam or not.

This is how the scam works

Although the texts are in English, the scam seems to be particularly widespread in Germany, according to a Reddit post. But the fraudulent approach is also already established in other countries. The police in Singapore explicitly warn against such attempted fraud. Apple users are also the target of a very similar fraud attempt.

But what exactly do the senders want to achieve with the message? Their goal is not to get your data or plant malware on you. They want your money. The attempted fraud involves a relatively new scam, the so-called task scam.

You will be asked to carry out small tasks for money. As a rule, your wages will be transferred to a fictitious account in the form of Bitcoins. After you have completed a series of tasks, you will finally be given a task that will cost you money and put your wage account in negative territory.

The “employer” asks you to balance the account in return for a commission. A little later you will supposedly get the money back along with the surcharge. This is how the scammers want to gain your trust. But it doesn’t stop at one time and the amounts to be paid are becoming more and more expensive. Since in reality your wages were never transferred to the crypto account, but you are paying into it, you could lose a fortune with the “job,” as Refundee reports.

This is how you protect yourself

To avoid things getting that far, you shouldn’t accept dubious offers from strangers. By the way, we don’t advise you to follow the Reddit user’s example and respond to the message. If you do this, the fraudsters will know that it is an active phone number and could spam you with further fraud attempts in the future.

The best thing to do is to block contact. An antivirus program or an AI-supported application like Scamio can also protect you from such scams.

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