Global cybersecurity leader Group-IB has revealed new research from its center in Dubai detailing a widespread fake job scam campaign targeting Arabic speakers in the MENA region.

Digital Risk Protection experts used AI and text analyzing tools to uncover over 2,400 fake job pages impersonating companies from 13 countries. The posts were created on social media platforms throughout the entirety of 2022.

On the job pages, fraudsters spoofed more than 40 of the MENA region’s largest companies. They published vacancies in Arabic offering salaries too good to be true, including “4,500 euros (USD $4,800) for drivers and painters”. Once interested victims interacted with links on the pages, they were taken to fake phishing sites where they were asked to enter login credentials and passwords.

Which Countries Were Targeted?

Arabic-speaking individuals were the exclusive targets of this particular scamming campaign, with Egyptian companies most frequently spoofed by the criminals.

According to Group-IB, “48% of all the fake profiles created on Facebook spoofed companies from Egypt. Organizations from Saudi Arabia (23% of all scam pages), Algeria (16%), Tunisia (7%), and Morocco (4%) were also frequently mimicked as well as offering individuals jobs at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar”.

What Industries Were Selected?

The scammers responsible for the fake job pages made adverts across multiple industries, though logistics firms were a popular target (64%). Group-IB noted that “scammers targeting MENA users are particularly fond of impersonating logistics enterprises due to the high potential ROI. The food and beverage (20% of scam pages) and petroleum (12%) industries were also heavily impersonated by the scammers, with one particular company being impersonated on more than 1,000 fake pages”.

Also Read: Is Your Phone Hacked? How To Find Out & Protect Yourself

Staying Safe Online

Group-IB warned internet users to stay vigilant and always confirm URLs when following links that supposedly lead to a company’s website — a particularly important habit on social media sites. Users should enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for all online accounts supporting the security feature and ensure they never use the same password across multiple accounts.