The Department of Justice-Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OC) on Wednesday issued a warning to the public against the prolifiration of scam text messages that offer fake jobs and other valuable products at seemingly discounted prices.
“Desperate to get a job during the holiday season? Be cautious before taking up an opportunity to work offered by unknown SMS senders,” the DOJ-OC said.
The DOJ-OC noted that “fraudulent job postings will either ask the applicant to pay for application or training fees or promise high wages. It would also require the applicant to answer an extensive personal information questionnaire that would then be used by the scammers to commit identity theft.”
“The holidays are a time for family and friends — but scammers will do everything to ruin celebrations. Avoid these unfortunate events from happening by being vigilant and conscientious with your online dealings. Do not click unverified links and do not give away personal information easily,” the office added.
In the past few days, complaints have mounted against the thousands of text messages from random numbers offering nonexistent jobs to unsuspecting victims.
Called “smishing”, it is classified as a cybersecurity attack carried out via mobile text messaging. (PIA-NCR)
