The fake job scam is standing out as one of the main fraud attempts in Brazil in 2022, with data from PSafe, a digital security company reporting that, from September last year to February, there were 608 thousand attempts of this type of attack . . in the country, an average of 4 thousand per day — resulting in an alert from the Civil Police of Paraná (PCPR) about the problem.
- 5 tips to avoid falling for a fake job scam
- What is Phishing?
The alert from the Civil Police of Paraná (PCPR) was launched this Tuesday (31), the authority explains that the so-called false employment scam occurs by sending supposed job proposals via SMS or WhatsApp, promising vacancies, often remote. and part-time with daily pay ranging from R$ 500 to R$ 3 thousand.
As the proposals appear attractive, and considering the current unemployment scenario in Brazil, which, according to IBGE, currently affects 11.5 million Brazilians, victims end up clicking on links sent in false communications, which can lead to several situations, from downloading malware onto devices to manipulating the classification of items in marketplaces and stealing money — all common characteristics of phishing scams.
“We have noticed in recent weeks an increase in victims going to the police station to register a report of attempted embezzlement, that is, they realized it was a scam, they didn't click, they didn't pay amounts, but they went to the police stations. from the police to show which numbers are used, or possibly the accounts used by embezzlers”, said delegate Emmanuel David.
Fake job scams are constantly evolving
Example of an attempted fake job scam using the name of Magazine Luiza.
The false employment scheme is worrying, as shown in the PCPR warning, and it is also important that the population knows that the fraud is constantly evolving, with its controllers recently adopting methods common to pyramid schemes, with promises of profits for participants who attract more people to the platforms.
Furthermore, there are situations in which scammers may try to use the name of well-known companies to increase trust in communication, as recently happened with Magazine Luíza. In this case, the indication that the messages were fake was the spelling error in the organization's name.
To protect yourself from these scams, it is important for users to remember that job offers are unlikely to be made via SMS or even WhatsApp messages, especially when they appear out of nowhere, without the user having applied for a job at the company. . The ideal, in these cases, is to ignore the messages and never contact the scammers.
Also, if there is any basis for you to suspect that the offer is real, such as if the job uses the name of a famous organization. Look for the company indicated through direct and official means, instead of responding to contact made via SMS or WhatsApp — thus ensuring greater certainty in the veracity of the information.
