Being Scammed on WhatsApp is Heartbreaking
“Hello”, or simply “hi”
This is the most common opening line of the occasional WhatsApp message I’ve received from an array of unknown numbers. Any response from this point on could be deadly. Not for me, but for the digitally unsavvy. WhatsApp has become the weapon of choice for a new wave of scam syndicates.
Before I even engage, the first red flag is the fact that I’m being messaged at all. Other clues can come from the lack of a profile picture or a WhatsApp profile name that does not match up to their opening pitch. This is an easy message for me to simply ignore or even block. But what if I didn’t?
It starts innocently enough, offering a too-good-to-be-true “Work From Home” opportunity without the need for any qualifications. The early details may include being paid to like specific YouTube videos. This on face value could be a legitimate business transaction but considering the price paid per like, anyone versed in Math literacy would see some additional red flags.
Offering an easy income stream (e.g.: R1000 per day) to random cell numbers is a cruel prospect considering the unemployment rate in South Africa. What’s even crueller, is that the people who are doing the scamming are also the scammed. The basic structure of any successful pyramid scheme relies on downward growth. The person chatting me up is not a criminal, or even malicious, they just got lured into this net by the promise of financial freedom. So, what could go wrong by simply hearing them out?
When asked my age, I responded “88”. They don’t care. I tell them “This sounds like a scam”. They don’t care. I tell them I’m not interested in multi-level marketing, and yet they persist. As part of the charade, they ask me to follow a link to ‘like’ a YouTube video and screenshot my ‘like’ as proof that I’m up for the job. They never seem to be amused when I somehow fail to complete this simple task correctly. Even with failing at the core function of the proposed job, they persist.
The real goal is for them to get me to register. This might be with a link to a webpage or by downloading the messaging app Telegram and joining a specific Telegram group. Most importantly, you MUST use their referral code. At this point, you click that the person chatting to you makes their commission from getting people like me to sign up. This is also the point of the story where I take a pause and shuffle away from the edge of the cliff.
I’m deciding to reclaim my time at this point and move on. They, however, have lost a potential lead. If I don’t block the number, they’ll message me a day or two later just to check-in. I know I was just one of dozens, possibly hundreds, of numbers they were dragging and dropping pre-approved responses to. I wasn’t special. The morbid reality is that for every fifty rejections they get, they’ll hook one victim who was made to feel special, at least for a little while.
