There are a number of scams proliferating here and there, and this new WhatsApp scam is alarming, as it fronts itself as a “legitimate” job hiring scheme for a marketing job. This has been flagged several days ago by Social Media Marketing Philippines on Facebook, and the said WhatsApp scam is ongoing.
Unlike other WhatsApp scams in the past, this new scam is scary as the messages usually front an agency that appears to be legitimate, even if they are not affiliated. We got in touch with one of the victims of this WhatsApp job hiring scam, and we were told that the scheme involves them being hired to grow engagement for various social media accounts. The modus will try to appear legit, as they will share transaction proofs done via GCash.
While they initially would pay the victim a “cashback”, the scheme starts to become shady when they will ask the victim to send more than Php 5,000 to them via GCash and claim that “the transaction did not push through”, forcing the victims to send a bigger amount–only to make the victim realize that they were scammed a large amount.
While the government has yet to look into the scam, we advise you to be extra vigilant, especially with your WhatsApp or Telegram accounts. Should you receive any message that involves being recruited for a job–AND you don’t remember applying for that company–DO NOT engage with the scammer, and make sure to report it to authorities like the NTC.