Fact Check: Fraudulent Job Offers Going Viral On Social Media

New Delhi (Vishvas News): If you have been receiving anonymous job offer messages on WhatsApp from unknown numbers, even foreign ones, you are not alone. Several WhatsApp users in India have reported getting fraudulent job offer messages over the last few days. Vishvas News received one such claim about a job offer from Damco Group. On investigation, we found the claim to be a spammer message that was shared with the intent of fraud.

Claim

A user shared a claim on Vishvas News Tipline Number 9599299372 that Damco Group is offering jobs on WhatsApp. The post read:

“I am Radhika recruiter from { DEMCO   digital marketing agency } and I am contacting you to advise you of a part-time position available to work from your home. Are you interested?

Now we have a social media job that I think will suit you. I will introduce you to the salary package.

 ✅ Indian citizens 

 ✅ Gender. Male Female 

 ✅ Bonus: Rs. 2000-5000, daily settlement 🧧. 

 ✅Basic salary allowance: Rs.10000 per week 

 ✅ Working hours. 1~2 hours a day 

 ✅Salary payment via online banking  Paytm Gpay and UPI

The job doesnt affect  your current job, it only takes 5-10 minutes operate in your spare time, which is a job to increase exrtra income. This job is very simple and easy. Your role is simply to review our restaurants on google map. You can test this part -time job first to see if it suitable for you.As long as you complete 2 tasks in the test , you will get 210Rupees as a welcome bonus.

Do you have a google maps?” (sic)

Other WhatsApp users also received similar job offers:

Many people faced similar WhatsApp frauds and shared screenshots on Facebook (archive link).

Investigation

A post received by Vishvas News on its tipline number claimed that Damco Group is offering a social media job on WhatsApp to people. The job description tried to lure people with the claim that joiners can earn Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 daily.

Similar posts offering jobs from Damco Group were also found on Facebook (archive link).

When we explored the content of the message, it was interesting to note that it was AI-generated.

Vishvas News investigated and explored Damco Group’s website but did not find any such vacancy posted online. We also explored their social media accounts like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram and did not find any such links either.

Next, Vishvas News contacted the organisation at their email ID, to which their representative Mohit Gupta replied, “This is a scam and has nothing to do with our company. Please be very careful.”

The exact intentions of the alleged scammers remain unclear, but there are indications that they may be attempting to establish contact with individuals in the guise of offering them counterfeit job opportunities, potentially with the aim of defrauding them. It is also possible that automated bots are responsible for initiating the calls, rather than real individuals. Nevertheless, the safest course of action would be to disregard or decline such calls. Additionally, blocking and reporting the associated phone numbers is advisable to prevent further fraudulent calls or messages.

For further information on Cyber Security Literacy, you can refer to the Vishvas News video. However, it’s essential to verify the credibility of the source and the information provided in the video for accuracy.

Conclusion: The investigation by Vishvas News confirms that the job offers from Damco Group on WhatsApp are fraudulent and potentially aimed at scamming individuals. Damco Group has disassociated itself from these offers. WhatsApp users should be cautious, ignore such messages, and report them to prevent potential fraud.

Tags

• cyber security
• Digital safety
• scams