How fraudsters peddled an eBay job scam

Recruitment scams are on the rise, with fake calls and messages often claiming to offer a lot of money for completing simple tasks. 

Some recruitment fraudsters impersonate legitimate recruitment companies; others pretend to be affiliated with big brands to lure in unsuspecting victims.

Below, we reveal an eBay job scam being promoted on the messaging app Telegram and explain how you can spot and avoid these scams.

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The eBay job scam

A Which? employee was added to a group on Telegram, a free messaging app, and was informed that they could make money through eBay, the online shopping platform.

The administrator behind this group of 77 random numbers greeted new group members by saying: ‘Welcome to the eBay promotion group – we invite you to help ebay sellers increase product visibility and attract more buyers while earning some part time income in your spare time.’

They went on to claim that people can join by following an eBay link given by the group administrator, then adding the eBay seller to your list of favourite sellers and liking the item that they're selling. 

We investigated this link and found you're then asked to send a screenshot of you completing the task to prove you have finished it. The admin claimed that each completed task would earn members between £5 and £20.

Someone then shared a screenshot image of them receiving a £5 payment for completing the task. However, it isn’t clear whether or not this person was in on the scam. It’s also not uncommon for scammers to pay you a small amount at the start of a job scam to make it appear legitimate.

Someone in the group asked if the task was legal, and another member claimed to have completed the task and not received any payment. The admin responded by saying they can send over documents to prove their legitimacy and that any payment delays are due to a large interest in the role.

One member of the group asked how their phone number was attained, and the admin claimed to have gathered phone numbers through WhatsApp.

Which? shared its findings with eBay, which told us: 'We are aware of a scam where members of the public have been contacted with offers of employment connected with eBay. Anyone contacted in this way should block the contact through the app they are using and seek advice and information from a trusted source such as Action Fraud or the National Cyber Security Centre.'

We contacted Telegram about the messages and it told us that scams are forbidden by Telegram's terms of service and are removed whenever discovered. We provided the username of the group for its moderators to investigate.

We also spoke to WhatsApp about the fraudster's claims to have gathered numbers from its platform, and it told us that you can't get numbers from WhatsApp in this way.

Task-based job scams

One of the most common types of job scams are task scams. This is where you’re asked to complete simple tasks at home on your computer for a small fee. 

The simplicity of the tasks and the large earning potential make these job scams tempting. Task scams may involve asking you to watch a video, rate products on online shopping platforms or complete short surveys.

At some point, you’ll most likely be asked to invest money in order to keep making money or to make larger amounts. This is when you start to lose money to the scam and you’ll never see your fake earnings. Also, any personal details you shared while working on the fake job are at risk of being compromised.

Spotting and avoiding job scams

These are some signs that a job may be a scam and methods for identifying whether it is:

• Payments that sound too good to be true.
• Work that is simple and easy and requires no qualifications or training.
• Messages that claim to be from a recruitment company—check the company's official website to see whether it recruits in this way.
• Searching the company name on Companies House or overseas registries to confirm that the organisation offering you the job actually exists. If it does, contact the organisation directly through officially listed details to confirm the offer is genuine.
• If you’re directed to a website, follow these tips to check whether it's a scam site.

If you lose any money to a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Action Fraud, or call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.