The Weekly Breach Breakdown: New Year, New Me, New Scam – New Wave of Remote Job Scams on Social Media

• According to Jonathan Trull, Qualys’ CISO and senior vice president of solutions architecture, researchers from Qualys have warned of “ongoing attacks against multiple brands” offering remote work through Facebook ads.
• Identity criminals use fake recruiter profiles to lure people into installing or moving to a popular chat app. Once the victims move to a private messaging platform with the scammer, they ask for their personal information and banking credentials, allowing identity thieves to possibly defraud them in the future.
• To avoid remote job scams, remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Also, always verify offers by going directly to the source and be cautious of job solicitation that does not come from an official source.
• To learn about the latest data compromises, consumers and businesses should visit the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) data breach tracking tool, notified.
• If you believe you are the victim of an identity crime, contact the ITRC. Call toll-free at 888.400.5530 or live chat on the company website, idtheftcenter.org.

New Year, New Me, New Scam

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) Weekly Breach Breakdown for January 19, 2024. Thanks to Sentilink for their support of the podcast and the ITRC. Each week, we look at the most recent events and trends related to data security and privacy. This week, we discuss remote job scams, which have been spreading on Facebook and other platforms.

What is Happening

A new year is often considered a fresh start for many of us. However, identity criminals are always looking for new ways to scam people. Recently, a fresh wave of remote job scams has been spreading on Facebook, aiming to lure users with offers for remote work positions and ultimately defraud them. The scammers offer those work-from-home opportunities to Facebook users through legitimate-looking ads and then, in the “interview process,” ask for personal information and banking credentials.

According to Jonathan Trull, Qualys’ CISO and senior vice president of solutions architecture, researchers from Qualys have warned of “ongoing attacks against multiple brands” offering remote work through Facebook ads. The criminals use fake recruiter profiles to lure people into installing or moving to a popular chat app. Once the victims move to a private messaging platform with the scammer, they ask for their personal information and banking credentials, allowing potential identity thieves to defraud them in the future.

Why Remote Job Scams Are Popular

Fake job ads and remote job scams are persistent online threats and usually see a rise in prevalence following the holidays when people are primed for new opportunities. Identity thieves use social engineering to bait victims into responding and then either steal their personal data, online credentials, money or all of the above.

How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Remote Job Scams

1. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. It’s a good rule of thumb to be mindful of online job listings that appear too perfect.
2. Always verify offers by looking up a job opening on an organization’s official website and contacting the company directly.
3. Be cautious of any job solicitation that doesn’t come from an official source (email, text, social media, etc.), even if the social media source seems trustworthy. Verify, verify, verify.

Remote job scams are a constant online security issue, and you must always be alert when looking for new job opportunities online.

Contact the ITRC

If you want to know more about how to protect your business or personal information, remote job scams or think you have been the victim of an identity crime, you can speak with an expert ITRC advisor on the phone, chat live on the web, or exchange emails during our normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-5 p.m. PST). Just visit www.idtheftcenter.org to get started.

Thanks again to Sentilink for their support of the ITRC and this podcast. Next week, we will have an episode of our sister podcast, the Fraudian Slip, breaking down the findings in our 2023 Annual Data Breach Report, which will be released on January 25. We won’t give too much away. Let’s just say the findings could be startling. You will be able to download the report by visiting www.idtheftcenter.org/publications. 

We will return next month with another episode of the Weekly Breach Breakdown.