Searching for a remote job these days could lead to losing control over your own phone instead of bringing the long-awaited income. Scammers are actively using a sophisticated cyberextortion scheme, in which your smartphone is remotely locked under the guise of “setting up work software”, and a ransom is demanded.
How the scam works: from a “job vacancy” to device lockout
- Fake “job vacancy”. It all starts with an appealing offer on Telegram channels, Facebook groups, or other online platforms dedicated to remote job hunting:
- The interview. They message you in a friendly way, ask about your experience, and give you a test assignment:
- “Setting up the workstation”. This is the main part of the scammers’ operation to gain control over your phone:
- iPhone: they ask you to log into someone else’s Apple ID:
- Android: they send a program as a file with an “.apk” extension and insist on granting it full administrator rights.
- Immediately after the victim follows the instructions, the scammers remotely disable biometrics, activate “lost mode,” and the gadget turns into a useless piece of glass and metal.
- A demand appears on the screen to transfer tens of thousands of drams for unlocking.
Legal trap
When users log into someone else’s account themselves or manually install a program and voluntarily grant it administrator rights, they are legally acting as the device owner:
IDBank recommends:
- Never log into someone else’s accounts: Your Apple ID or Google account is like the “keys to your apartment.”
- Apps from official stores only:
- Check the employer:
- Don’t pay the ransom:
- Keep your receipts:
Remember: any job that begins with a request to hand over control of your phone to a stranger is a trap.
