Out of the blue you receive a call or a text offering you a job. It sounds great – it’s remote working and you could earn up to £800 a day. If you’re interested, you just need to contact the sender via the WhatsApp number provided.
The job is pretty easy: you are asked to like and share content – usually on TikTok.
“After you’ve starting liking and sharing content you receive a small payment, which is fraudulent funds from other people involved in the scam,” says Annya Burskys, the head of fraud operations at Nationwide building society. “Then you’re told that you need to pay a sum to unlock higher earnings – you may be told it’s for training.
“Some of that money is used to pay other victims, and some goes into the hands of the organised crime gang.”
Burskys says the original messages are proving an attractive proposition to people – particularly students.
“We’re starting to see an uptick, particularly in the 16-25 age group,” she says. “Last year, we weren’t seeing these daily. Now it’s multiple cases a day, either of people who have sent money, or we’re receiving reports from other banks who have customers who have sent money to customers’ accounts.”
In the latter cases, victims may have been persuaded to act as “money mules” – allowing their accounts to be used by the scammers to process payments.
As well as handing over money, or accounts, victims may also find that the bank and identity details they are asked for are used for other scams.
Burskys says typical losses have been in the hundreds or thousands of pounds. “It’s not the highest value – the problem is the volume,” she says. “It happens very quickly – from setup to speaking to realising you’re a scam victim is days, whereas your typical investment scam plays out over months or years.”
As universities and schools break up, and students start looking for summer work, they need to beware the scammers.
What the scam looks like
Texts claim to be from a recruitment agency – sometimes using the name of a legitimate company – or from TikTok and say there is work available. Some mention your CV, as if you have sent it in. The texts say you can earn hundreds of pounds a day (the figure £800 seems to appear a lot), and ask you to get in touch via a WhatsApp number.
The phone calls are similar. In one this week an automated voice claimed to be from the recruitment agency Indeed and said a job was available and if the recipient was interested they should get in touch via WhatsApp. The phone number seemingly belonged to a regular UK mobile.
What the messages ask for
The first message asks you to register your interest in a job. The scammers will then tell you the job involves liking and sharing content – probably TikTok videos. You might be asked for your details when you sign up, or when it comes time to receive some pay.
You may receive a first “wage” but then you will be asked to pay for training, or similar, so you can unlock higher earnings.
What to do
Beware of any unsolicited message claiming to offer work. This is not a typical way for a legitimate agency to approach people. The agency Indeed says: “Indeed never contacts jobseekers directly by phone on behalf of employers using our platform to find and hire new employees.”
Burskys says if you hear from a recruiter or company offering you a job you should “use Companies House, use LinkedIn to research them”. Companies House will show you if a company is operating, who its directors are and where it is based. You can check this against any details you have been given.
If you recognise the name of the recruitment company, go to its website and see whether the job is advertised on there.
In the UK, forward scam texts to 7726.
Many recruiters have tips on how to carry out your job search safely, such as these from Indeed.
