A seemingly harmless WhatsApp message from someone named Lisa Bird is currently circulating. We’ll explain why you should reject the chat request.
You may have already received a WhatsApp message from someone pretending to be your child, asking for money under some false pretense. This type of scam, commonly known as the “grandchild scam,” was one of the most widespread fraud tactics on the messaging app for a long time. However, a new scam is on the rise: job scamming.
In this scheme, fraudsters contact you on behalf of an agency, offering you a “great” career opportunity. This is currently happening when someone named Lisa Bird from the Tech People Recruitment Agency reaches out to you. Reddit user Master_Effect9327 recently exposed this scam. In their case, the phone number 020 1064923317 attempted to reach them twice via video call. Only after they reacted with annoyance did they receive a text message.
As Master_Effect9327 correctly pointed out in their response, the Egyptian phone number is particularly suspicious. Moreover, the number is not registered to Lisa Bird but rather to a Karen Simpson. If this wasn’t strange enough, the message asked whether the conversation should proceed in English or Hungarian. All these details clearly point to an attempted fraud.
We’ve encountered similar approaches before. The scammers hope you’ll respond to the job offer and share your personal information for the supposed application process. In some cases, the scam goes further, and you end up performing small tasks for the criminals while being deceived. This is known as task scamming.
How do scammers get your number?
You’re probably wondering how the scammers even got hold of your phone number. There are many possibilities. Your number may have been sold on the Darknet or exposed in a data breach. It’s also possible that a legitimate company sold your data. For this reason, you should always be cautious when sharing your personal information.
How to protect yourself
If an unknown foreign number calls you via WhatsApp, always be cautious. Such calls are almost always attempts to scam you. Many of these calls come from India. We advise against following the example of the Reddit user by responding to the chat request. If you do, the scammers will know they are dealing with an active number. This could lead to even more spam calls.