WhenInManila.com was recently targeted by a scammer. Here’s the story about how our team almost got scammed by an elaborate new modus.
Photo: AI-generated, Ideogram
A new concerning scam is making the rounds on popular messaging app WhatsApp. In a recent event, two junior employees of WheninManila.com have reported receiving WhatsApp messages from a number pretending to be their boss, urgently asking for money.
The fraud profile bears the name of WhenInManila.com’s CEO, which suggests that the scammers were intentionally targeting the media site’s employees and was not a random spam message.
What happened: A new text scam to look out for
In the screenshots shared by one of WhenInManila.com’s employees who were targeted, the fake boss can be seen asking them to purchase P20,000 worth of top-up gift cards through a platform called Lapak Gaming.
In an attempt to put pressure on the employee, the “boss” can be seen creating a false sense of urgency, claiming that the assistance needed was a pressing matter. Fabricating emergencies is a common modus operandi in scams to encourage quick action from victims without verifying the request.
Here’s another screenshot from the conversation:
Fortunately, the scam attempt failed, and no money was lost. The WhenInManila.com employee grew suspicious and promptly verified the request with their boss by messaging them through another platform.
What made this new scheme alarming is that the scammer appeared to have thoroughly researched WheninManila.com and deliberately targeted junior employees. They knew the boss’ and employees’ names, their phone numbers, and even identified who the junior employees were. It also raises serious questions about how and where they obtained all that information.
Your contact asking for money? Make sure to verify!
This incident serves as a timely reminder to stay vigilant against modi operandi that exploit trust and create a false sense of urgency. Scammers often impersonate individuals in positions of authority to manipulate their targets into taking swift, unquestioning action.
Stay vigilant, everyone!
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