Part-time job scams rising in Bangladesh

Shahariar Islam Sovon :
Bangladesh is experiencing an increase in fraudulent activities in its cyberspace, most of which are connected to fraudulent work-from-home job prospects, as a result of intensifying unemployment problem.

Particularly through misleading messages delivered via SMS and WhatsApp, these scams prey on people’s desire for remote work and financial instability by offering big daily rewards for little effort and time.

Salma, a recent law graduate, has fallen victim to several fraudulent offers that appear on their messaging services.

Salma recently got a seductive message from a number that offered her a Tk 2,000 daily salary for a part-time position as the HR Manager at Edelman Company. Additionally, this firm obtained Tk 2000 by Salma through Nagad.

Similarly, Atik, a banker, got a message that said, “Please join me for a part-time job where you can work from home using your mobile phone and earn Tk200-3,000 per day for 10-30 minutes each day.” Join us right away by responding clicking the link.”

These alluring employment offers, however, come with risks in addition to possible disappointment.

The links in the package, when clicked, take the user to a fraudulent website that seems to be a con artist stealing money from the unwary victim or compromising sensitive data.

In rare circumstances, the fraudster may even be able to take complete control of the victim’s device thanks to these linkages.

The Cyber Police Center (CPC) confirmed The New Nation that they have been putting in a lot of effort to find these con artists.

They kindly ask the public to report any suspicious activity to the authorities.

Professor BM Mainul Hossain, a cybersecurity specialist at Dhaka University’s Institute of Information Technology, cautions against accepting such fraudulent offers.

Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion has detained seven individuals for operating a scam that, over the course of the previous six months, defrauded more than 700 job seekers by posing as employers and stealing their money.