A WhatsApp message claims to advertise job opportunities for over 450,000 workers in Canada. The message guarantees instant work permits, travel, accommodation, among other benefits for applicants who are merely16-years-old and over and “can speak basic English”. Applicants are directed to apply via this link attached to the message.
Background
The new year often comes with potential con artists flooding social media platforms with non-existent jobs through fabricated advertisements. Piga Firimbi recently flagged this fake ad claiming to offer youth in Africa money through the National Youth Empowerment Fund.
Similarly, Piga Firimbi previously checked another ad for jobs in Canada here. This fact-check reveals that Kenyans lost up to Sh2 million per person in 2019 to cons purporting to offer job opportunities in Canada.
Verification
The first glaring red flag upon clicking the link attached to the WhatsApp message is a warning from Google indicating that the site is unsafe (see screengrab below).
The application form further seeks to harvest Personal Identifiable Information (PII) such as phone numbers and email addresses, which applicants must fill out. Such is characteristic of phishing scams.
A survey identical to similar hoaxes previously debunked by Piga Firimbi is also a requirement in this application. The survey, just like one for a fake Youth Empowerment Program here and a fake COVID-19 Relief Fund here, requires applicants to declare their employment status, marital status and age.
The final step, indicative of an Engagement Bait Scam would require applicants to forward the link to 15 friends or 5 groups before they can qualify for the promised jobs. This is meant to make a link reach as many people as possible.
The WhatsApp message also contains signs of a hoax as highlighted in this report. Such include the “Forwarded” label, showing that the message is widely circulated in the true fashion of an Engagement Bait Scam. This is in addition to the misspelling of the word ‘accommodation’.
Verdict
The WhatsApp message claiming to advertise jobs in Canada is FAKE.
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