Second, seemingly legit, job posting that’s contacted me after the fact to download Signal/Telegram. I’m in now way going to do it, not that dumb, just wondering if this is a new trend I’m not aware of?
I had this happen with a musician I follow. They did a series of live streaming pandemic shows & after one of those, the “musician” contacted me asking me to message them on Telegram.
Profile pic was a screenshot of the musicians’ facebook profile pic & the account details were sparse.
Not sure what the scam was, it wasn’t a very convincing attempt.
I have zero knowledge of signal or telegram outside of knowing they exist. How would downloading the app from the App Store and sending someone a message make you vulnerable to a scam? Is it just that they could send you messages asking for personal information, or ask you for bank information to set up direct deposit and instead just use your bank info to steal your money?
Just guessing that this is to get the conversation off of Indeed, for whatever that is worth.
BTW: I use Signal to stay in touch with my far-away family. It’s pretty nice. Rumor has it that it was originally built by the CIA (the US spy organization).
That’s right. A scamming tactic is to move conversations from platforms that are monitored to platforms that are encrypted, where the scam messages won’t detected by automated scanning.
Yes, there are legit uses for encrypted chats but this move is one signal that a scam may be in progress.
I don’t see how downloading Signal is directly making this a scam? It might just be that the company cares about security and privacy and isn’t comfortable sharing confidential company data over something like LinkedIn?
If the offer seems legit and you applied for it there is no way you can get scammed just by texting them on Signal.
“seemingly legit”?
Everyone musing that it’s a legit offer, It’s a pretty common tactic. OP is right to be wary and seek advice. I had someone try #5 on me last week. I enjoy messing with them so I toyed with them until I got several phishy links to the play store in an effort to help me locate Telegram. In OP’s case I would assume it’s either social engineering or phishy hyperlinks. It’s almost like trading for a Shako in D2, you know the dude is probably going to tell you he has to put something in his chest real quick to make room or “accidentally” click off the trade hoping you won’t check it again.