The prospect of earning money while sitting comfortably in front of a screen should already make anyone suspicious. Online scammers are always looking for new victims, hoping to find someone with little knowledge to defend themselves.
An example of these scams is a message that is circulating Insistently on WhatsApp in these hours it has appeared from hundreds of cell phones of residents in Trentino.
An alleged promoter promises high earnings to those who respond to his invitation, with the sole task of evaluate hotel reservations on “booking.com” and to put a simple “I like” to the hotels indicated. The suspicion that this is a scam is very high.
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The message reads: “Hello. We need someone to evaluate hotel bookings. We will pay 200€~1000€. All we need to do is rate or like the hotel on Booking.com. If you are interested in this job, reply to…. and add WhatsApp Customer Service”
The profile associated with this number as per photo is registered to an Asian man does not contain any reference to the job offer.
Another discrepancy is that the offer was sent from the international prefix +98, indicative of Iran. Or in some cases from Indonesian prefixes. In one case also from Italy, where the owner of the number was a certain Elena.
A further suspicious element is that only customers who have actually stayed in a property can rate a hotel on Booking.com, and only through your personal account. These details are enough to push anyone to delete the message and block the sender, as well as avoid clicking on any links inserted.
Contacting the telephone number to better understand the nature of the scam is not recommended. Overly attractive job offers often hide pitfalls, and it is always better to avoid them even without knowing all the details of the potential fraud.
In this case it could also be a double fraud. That is, a company that specializes in fake reviews.
