Why is there a sudden rise in scam messages in agency business
Scamsters posing as advertising or digital marketing agency representatives have seen a constant rise. They often pose as representatives from agency's HR teams making job offers and extracting information. Storyboard18 decodes the scam and measures to prevent it.
ADVERTISEMENT
On May 17, Anupriya Acharya (chief executive officer, South Asia) and Amaresh Godbole (CEO, digital technology business) at Publicis Groupe chimed in together to put out a message across social media platforms.
“We would like to inform you that some unknown and unauthorised persons have claimed to be a part of Publicis Groupe India entities. They are reaching out to the public with a fraudulent scheme of offering jobs to people and asking for money and making false promises through chat messages/and on social media sites. We at Publicis Groupe, NEVER ask for money when offering jobs. Therefore, we would like to inform the public at large to BEWARE of this fraud and NOT deal with any such individual.”
Digital marketing firm Gozoop Group also put out a message on their official Instagram account urging people to stay away from fraudulent messages being circulated online.
“Some individuals fraudulently posing as employees of the Gozoop Group are offering services or employment opportunities. These imposters may try to initiate contact via email, social media, or text messages with deceitful requests for personal information or even money. These individuals have no connection to the Gozoop Group. Kindly remain vigilant, exercise restraint and report the same to the relevant authorities.”
Amidst a flurry of scam messages being received by a majority of people in the business, senior executives such as Zenith’s chief digital officer Vibhor Mehrotra also was at the receiving end of it. A scamster posing as a HR professional from Publicis Communications approached him via Whatsapp with an offer of a ‘simple job’.
In April, Storyboard18 connected with several advertising and digital agencies such as Gozoop Group, White Rivers Media, Publicis Communications to understand how scamsters portrayed themselves as agency representatives, and approached unsuspecting people with jobs and work-from-home (WFH) opportunities.
Why is it on the rise?
Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, global chief executive officer and co-founder, Gozoop Group mentions that the agency’s employees were also offered these jobs and perks at the agency that they already work for. In April, he told Storyboard18 that more than 100 people reached out to him sharing these messages they received from accounts posing as Gozoop recruiters.
The scams which continue to take place evoke sensitivity and worry because the access of agencies and clients to a broader network is fairly deeper. And, such messages would have a negative impact.
Proper cybersecurity training and agencies listing the ‘Dos’ and ‘Don'ts’ to be followed by all employees stands paramount. Mathias highlighted that agencies must clearly communicate to their clients and share a list which highlights or tracks who are a part of the agency and who are no longer working with the agency.
Business strategist and angel investor Lloyd Mathias stated that the equation shared between an agency and a client presents a new opportunity for the scammers where they can function from a place of authority.
He explained, “Today, a lot of people are making use of phishing techniques to get hold of data. For example, I can send a mail saying that I come from an income tax office. Most don’t go deep and check the email id properly. Subject lines with, ‘Job offer’, ‘Urgent’ etc, results in people tending to click blindly without checking in the details. They need to control the urge.”
Measures to be safe
Gozoop’s Naqvi’s was of the opinion that aspiring job seekers, especially from small towns and villages, who are not based in Mumbai were the main target of the scammers. Messages pertaining to work from home and earning money pose great opportunities for them.
In the case of agency folks receiving scam messages, when frequency of such messages increase, Mathias suggested getting the client servicing department to be in regular touch with the clients. “Since this is a people oriented business, there is a sense of familiarity and it becomes easier to address the problems,” he said.
He explained, “Today, a lot of people are making use of phishing techniques to get hold of data. For example, I can send a mail saying that I come from an income tax office. Most don’t go deep and check the email id properly. Subject lines with, ‘Job offer’, ‘Urgent’ etc, results in people tending to click blindly without checking in the details. They need to control the urge.”
Proper cybersecurity training and agencies listing the ‘Dos’ and ‘Don'ts’ to be followed by all employees stands paramount. Mathias highlighted that agencies must clearly communicate to their clients and share a list which highlights or tracks who are a part of the agency and who are no longer working with the agency.
“If you get a random mail from a well-known agency, it is always good to check who the person is. Today, it is very easy to go on Google and LinkedIn and check his or her profile. It is easily addressable but to make people conscious of the fact that they don't give away information is the hard part,” he concluded.
