Looking at our team’s recent text messages, you’d think that remote online evaluators are in high demand right now.
Several members of our team have received the almost exact same job offer scam texts. The content of the messages is almost identical, but there is a variation in background images.
“We are hiring
Join our professional team
Job content Job title: remote online evaluator
Salary: $100-$600 per day
Working hours: 1-2 hours per day
Time: freedom can be done at home anytime
Job requirements: Age 25+If you’re interested in this position, please answer ‘yes’ or ‘interested’ and I’ll send you the details. “
This type of scam has been around for a while, but the ones sending this exact same text have really taken off the last week. All the recipients that reported this scam are in the US and the messages all came from different US numbers.
You can rely on the fact that the only lazy job here is the scammer’s. There are different possible scenarios when the targets reply, but they all have negative consequences.
- Advance fee scams are the most likely scenario. This is where the prospective employer explains what the job entails and then asks the target to pay for materials, start capital, or other onboarding costs. Typically, these payments are required in cryptocurrencies like USDT or Bitcoin.
- Identity theft. Under the guise of needing your personal information before you can start working, the scammers will send you to a website to fill out sensitive information (full name, address, date of birth, SSN, banking details).
- Money mule or laundering. The victim is actually working unknowingly to launder stolen money or cryptocurrency on behalf of the scammers. They will act as the person where the police come knocking first, giving the scammer more time to grab the money and run.
- Phishing for further exploitation. Even if there is no immediate ask for money, they may direct the victim to click malicious links or install apps that harvest data.
How to stay safe from hiring scams
There are a few simple but very effective guidelines to stay out of the grasp of scammers that reach out to you with unsolicited job offers:
- Don’t reply. Even if you reply ‘no’, all you’re doing is sending a signal that you’re reading their texts.
- Never give out your personal information based on an unsolicited message.
- Treat employers that want you to send them money before you can earn some with a healthy dose of suspicion. The same is true for those that pay a small amount and then ask for more in return.
- Ignore offers that are too good to be true. They probably ARE too good to be true.
- Is there a company name on the job ad? If not, question why.
- If there is a company name mentioned, does the location of the company match the location of the phone number?
If you have already engaged with the scammers, there are some actions that can help you limit any damage:
- Stop communication immediately.
- Do not send money.
- Contact your bank if you’ve shared any financial information.
- Consider an identity monitoring service.
- File a police/FTC report.
- US recipients can forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM).
We don’t just report on scams—we help detect them
Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. If something looks dodgy to you, check if it’s a scam using Malwarebytes Scam Guard, a feature of our mobile protection products. Submit a screenshot, paste suspicious content, or share a text or phone number, and we’ll tell you if it’s a scam or legit. Download Malwarebytes Mobile Security for iOS or Android and try it today!
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