As UAE residents grapple with the growing prevalence of fake job offers on WhatsApp, experts urge heightened vigilance and awareness of ‘red flags.’ With cybercriminals increasingly leveraging advanced technological tools, these scams are becoming harder to detect.
“Smishing [SMS phishing] has become an established part of the cybersecurity landscape rather than an evolving threat in many regions, including the UAE, and WhatsApp scams are no exception. Cybercriminals will always pivot to new technologies and tactics, and WhatsApp is becoming more a popular platform for cybercriminals,” Emile Abou Saleh – Senior Regional Director Middle East, Turkey & Africa at Proofpoint said in an exclusive interview with Arabian Business.
According to a recent study by Proofpoint, 88 percent of Middle East respondents said they experienced at least one smishing attempt in the past year – a whopping 33 percent increase as compared to the previous year.
Moreover, the high rate of smartphone and internet usage in the UAE, coupled with the increasing number of job seekers, has made residents prime targets for smishing scams.
These scammers prey on the vulnerabilities of job hunters, particularly those facing financial pressures. They often present too-good-to-be-true job offers, promising high pay for minimal work and using urgent language to prompt immediate action. Red flags include unclear job roles, immediate “paychecks,” and requests for quick tasks involving money transfers.
In a message seen by Arabian Business, the fake job offer from an Indonesian phone number read, “Hi everyone, I am Alicia and our company works with some big companies that want pay-per-view, so our company has to hire a lot of collaborators to rate your content 5 stars on Google Maps and get paid.
You can work remotely, 30-60 minutes a day, and get paid every day. Daily income: AED1,000 to AED30,000. Age limit: 20-60 years old. If you are interested in this part-time job, please click on the WhatsApp+ link below to add WhatsApp customer service manager to apply for the position.”
Ezzeldin Hussein, Regional Senior Director, Solution Engineering – META, SentinelOne said, “If you use WhatsApp in the UAE, there’s a high chance you’ve been the recipient of at least one of these messages. Moreover, the UAE has a significant expatriate population, many actively seeking employment opportunities. Scammers exploit this by targeting individuals desperate for jobs. The allure of high-paying jobs is particularly attractive in an economy where individuals may face financial pressures, leading them to take risks on seemingly lucrative offers.”
Common scammer tactics and red flags
Scammers are resorting to an array of tactics to deceive job seekers in the country. According to Karthik Anandarao, Chief Technical Evangelist at ManageEngine, “The basic tactic of these scammers is to create a sense of emergency using common phrases. They exploit the unsuspected behaviour and trust of the common man to lure them into such scams. They use fake profiles and pretend to be a trusted job provider.”
Once lured in, scammers will then start demanding personal information and financial investment for various processing fees or things like training, background checks, or equipment and software,” said John Shier Field CTO Threat Intelligence at Sophos.
Cybercriminals hunt for personal information, including identification documents, bank account details or passport copies. “They may even conduct fake interviews via WhatsApp to further deceive victims. These interviews are often scripted and designed to convince the victim of the job’s legitimacy,” said Hussein.
Warning against clicking on unverified links that could lead to the compromise of the victim’s device and personal information, he said, “Some scammers send phishing links or malware-infected files disguised as job applications or company documents. Clicking on these links or downloading files can compromise the victim’s device and personal information.”
Proofpoint data revealed that over the past year, there was a staggering increase in conversational attacks and mobile texting scams by over 318 percent.
Red flags
- Unexpected job offers with high pay, minimal work
- ‘Simple’ tasks or quick tasks
- Quality of communication and grammar
- Offers from companies not applied to or interacted with
- No formal employment contract or agreement
- Guaranteed employment without qualifications or experience
- Unknown groups and links
- Limited time offers
- Request for personal details, account information
- Urgency, phished website images or links
To protect themselves, individuals must stay vigilant and look out for several red flags. Abou Saleh advises against clicking on unknown links or joining suspicious groups, especially those creating a sense of urgency. “If a job offer seems too good to be true, it probably is,” he warns. “Be wary of job roles that are not clearly defined or require minimal effort for high pay.”
Hussein urges job seekers to trust their instincts and conduct thorough research before accepting any job offer. “Pay attention to the quality of communication and grammar in messages from supposed recruiters,” he advises. “Verify the legitimacy of the job offer by checking the company’s website and contacting them directly through official channels.”
How do scammers get phone numbers?
Most experts identified the primary source of access to phone number and information as data breaches.
“Scammers obtain phone numbers and personal information from data breaches affecting websites, online platforms, or companies. Stolen data, including phone numbers, email addresses, and personal details, can be sold on the dark web or used for fraudulent activities,” Hussein explained.
Field highlighted a breach that occurred in 2022, containing nearly 500 million WhatsApp phone numbers.
“The reality is that there are enough breaches every year for scammers to opportunistically try the phone numbers against different services and in various scams,” he said.
Protective and preventative measures
Experts emphasise the importance of proactive measures to safeguard against these scams and urge those targeted to exercise vigilance and caution.
Abou Saleh recommends never clicking on suspicious links, using phone security features like biometric authentication, and staying updated on current smishing tactics. “Awareness is your first line of defense,” he says.
Anandarao details phrases that are particularly indicative of scams:
- You do not need any previous work experience
- You can earn AED10,000 a month working for just 3 hours sitting from home
- You don’t have to provide any of your certificates
“Predominantly, it is the work-from-home jobs which are the best way to reach out to potential victims,” he said.
There are several ways that individuals can protect themselves from falling victim to these scams. “Smishing attacks have become widespread, growing in sophistication and posing a severe risk to users and the mobile ecosystem,” Abou Saleh said.
The UAE government has been active in combating these scams, establishing dedicated cybercrime units and publicising arrests and crackdowns on scam networks. However, continuous vigilance and skepticism are crucial in the fight against these and other cyber threats.
In April, Dubai Police arrested 494 scammers for fraud against bank customers. The most common tactic used by these fraudsters is to call, email, or SMS customers, claiming they need to update their banking information. Some even use social media to contact victims and gain access to their bank account details.
The authorities seized a significant amount of money, mobile phones, laptops, and SIM cards used to execute these scams.
“Some of the best practices an individual can follow is by not trusting messages sent from unknown senders. If the sender has not revealed their credentials, it is best not to proceed with any offer they provide, especially regarding employment opportunities. It is best to avoid such sender of messages by blocking them out and exiting groups to which you might have been added by the sender,” Anandarao advised.
Follow us on
