FACT CHECK: How true is the job offer in a viral link on students’ WhatsApp groups?

Claim: WhatsApp customer service job is offering N185,000 monthly.

Verdict: Misleading. The link in circulation is malicious and should be avoided.

Full Text:

In a goodwill to make fellow students have a side hustle, students are sharing a job application link across their WhatsApp community.

The post with an application link offers N185,000 for a “WhatsApp customer service” role.
According to the viral post in circulation, companies recruiting need individuals who can attend to customer complaints on WhatsApp.

Ripples Nigeria reports that the job offer is mouthwatering as the pay doubles Nigeria’s minimum wage of N70,000, which accounts for its widespread nature among students. It was recently shared to a WhatsApp group of the National Association of Faculty of Arts Students, University of Abuja. The group has 724 members.

Verification:
From the composition of the job ad. and the link attached, Ripples Nigeria can discern that it is a suspicious job application.

Upon clicking on the link, the application opens with a page for personal information. There are 10 questions in all, some of which test an applicant’s ability to handle customers’ issues.

A collage of the questions in the application.

It does not matter whether the applicant selects the obviously wrong answers.
After completing the application, applicants are required to share the link to other individuals or WhatsApp groups to “test their ability to use WhatsApp” — a common trick used by phishing links to reach more people.

Phishing links are malicious as cybercriminals can exploit personal information of unsuspecting members of the public for their nefarious activities, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
While phishing links may appear as real url links, there are subtle differences in such malicious links and links to real websites. For example, while a typical company website may end with .com, .ng, etc., a phishing link often ends with .xyz as in the link in circulation.

Also, the public are urged to check the website of recruiting firms for accurate information.

Conclusion:
The link in circulation for a WhatsApp customer service job offer is a malicious link.

By: Quadri Yahya

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