By Ankita Chakravarti: WhatsApp job scams are on a rise. Almost every WhatsApp user has in the recent past received at least one call or message from an international number trying to offer a part-time job, in return for good money. While some vulnerable users have fallen for the trap, the smart ones have turned the tables on the scammers. A Twitter user shared screenshots of how she tricked the scammers and turned the scam into a slam, when she was approached by one of them on WhatsApp with a fake job offer.
Udita Pal, the co-founder of Salt, a fintech platform in Bengaluru that helps with international transactions, took to Twitter to share her encounter with a scammer who attempted to deceive her through the messenger app. However, what caught people’s attention was not the scam attempt itself, but the humorous way in which Pal handled the situation and her responses to the scammer. She shared a sequence of WhatsApp chat screenshots along with the caption, “I’m going to hell for this.”
The scammer presented Pal with a bogus job offer, promising payment for liking and subscribing to a YouTube video. In the message, the scammer claimed that there was no fee involved and that Pal would receive one hundred and fifty currency units for just a few minutes on her mobile phone.
The scammer then informed Pal that there were three tasks she needed to complete, with the first one being liking a YouTube video and subscribing to the channel. He instructed her to watch the video for only 10 seconds and send him a screenshot once done. Pal agreed to the task and replied with “okay doing”. However, she sent a screenshot of a different YouTube video titled “Caught some idiot trying to scam” with a comical tone.
Pal posted the screenshots of her WhatsApp conversation on Friday, which have since garnered over 1,200 likes and multiple reactions. In the comments section, some users praised the chat as “brilliant”, while others filled it with laughing emojis.
One user wrote, “I was also offered this job opportunity a few days ago, but after reading this, I’m considering early retirement.” Another user humorously suggested, “You could have recommended Salt for their cross-border payments to employees who are preoccupied with liking YouTube videos from overseas.”
WhatsApp’s reaction to spammy calls and messages
WhatsApp has reacted to people getting swarmed with spammy calls and messages. The Meta-owned messaging app has now asked people to block and report the numbers.
The statement reads, “At WhatsApp, the safety of our users is at the core of everything we do and we have devoted efforts to empower users with resources and tools that equip them to safeguard themselves from scams. WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end encrypted messaging services and over the years we have made significant product investments and launched user awareness campaigns that empower users to stay safe. Blocking and Reporting suspicious messages/ calls is an important step to effectively combat scams and when users receive calls from unknown international or domestic phone numbers, WhatsApp provides a convenient way to block and report suspicious accounts. It’s important to report these accounts to WhatsApp so that we can take the required action against and ban them from the platform. Users can also control who sees their personal details and their online presence by using our privacy controls. Keeping your personal details visible to only your contacts can help safeguard your account against bad actors.”
