The WhatsApp recruitment scam crisis continues to escalate, with Social Path (socialpath.co.za), a South African digital marketing company, becoming the latest victim of fraudsters exploiting legitimate businesses to lend credibility to their schemes.
This scam follows a now-familiar pattern targeting digital marketing firms in South Africa, a trend previously seen with Bermont Digital, Solucru, and R17 Ventures.
The repetition of this tactic suggests a highly organised scam network, systematically exploiting South Africa’s unemployment crisis and preying on desperate job seekers.
How the Scam Works
The fraudulent messages being circulated use the name of Social Path to lure victims with promises of easy money through seemingly simple WhatsApp-based tasks. Below is the exact script used by scammers:
“Good Afternoon, Hope you are having a good day I am Enzokuhle, the HR Assistant at Social Path Digital Marketing. We are currently looking for part-time or full-time freelancers for a new project. The work is remote, so you can work from home or anywhere else. Each task takes just 3 to 5 minutes, and we will pay you immediately after completion.
Work Role is simple: Follow WhatsApp channels for our clients, and get paid based on the channels you follow.
Demo task reward: Complete the demo task and earn 30 ZAR
Daily income: 600 ZAR to 1600 ZAR or more
Working time: Each task takes 3 to 5 minutes, and you can complete it in your free time.
This is a part-time job, and you can do it whenever you have free time.
Payment method: Payments are made via bank transfer, any bank you prefer.”
At first glance, the offer appears harmless—an effortless way to earn money by following WhatsApp channels. However, as with previous scams of this nature, the reality is far more sinister.
Once a victim engages, they are typically led down a carefully orchestrated path, designed to extract personal information, banking details, or even upfront payments under the guise of ‘unlocking higher earnings’. The fraudsters may initially pay small sums to establish credibility, only to coerce victims into larger financial losses through escalating demands.
This is a classic case of social engineering, where scammers manipulate victims into believing they are engaging in legitimate freelance work while setting them up for financial exploitation.
Social Path Takes Action to Protect Its Reputation
For businesses, these scams are not just an inconvenience—they are direct attacks on their credibility. Social Path has been forced to publicly distance itself from the scam after receiving reports of fraudulent WhatsApp recruitment messages using its name.
On Tuesday, 11 February 2024, the company issued an official statement on Facebook and LinkedIn:
“Beware of WhatsApp recruitment fraud – alert!
We’ve been made aware of a scam misusing our company’s name to target job seekers through fraudulent WhatsApp recruitment messages. Please be advised that Social Path is NOT involved in any recruitment drives via WhatsApp or other messaging apps. Any messages claiming to offer remote job opportunities under our name are fraudulent.
We urge you to report and block any suspicious messages. To verify any legitimate job opportunities at Social Path, please refer only to our official website and LinkedIn page.”
For companies caught in these scams, swift action is essential. Fraudulent WhatsApp messages not only deceive job seekers but also cause confusion, undermine trust, and misrepresent a company’s hiring practices. Even though the company is an innocent victim, the mere association with a scam can cause lasting reputational damage.
A Pattern of Targeting Digital Marketing Companies
What stands out in this case is the repeated focus on South African digital marketing firms. Over the past few weeks, at least five similar scams have emerged—three using the names of real companies and two operating under hastily created fake brands with plagiarised websites.
This targeting of digital marketing firms suggests one of two possibilities:
- Scammers are strategically exploiting a vulnerable sector.
Digital marketing firms frequently offer remote and freelance job opportunities, making it easier for scammers to fabricate convincing job offers that align with industry norms. - A single scam network is orchestrating a widespread fraud operation.
The identical phrasing and structure of these scams, including the exact same script used in previous cases, strongly indicate a highly organised operation rather than isolated incidents. The systematic movement from one company name to another suggests that these scammers are working from a shared playbook, shifting targets as soon as they are exposed.
Why These Scams Are So Effective
The success of these scams is deeply rooted in South Africa’s economic crisis and high unemployment rate. Job scams are not random—they thrive in environments where financial desperation clouds judgment.
As covered in our previous article on Bermont Digital, scammers prey on unemployed individuals who are eager to believe that a stable income can be earned through something as effortless as following WhatsApp channels.
Once victims are convinced that they have stumbled upon a legitimate opportunity, they are more likely to comply with escalating requests, including:
- Making ‘unlocking payments’ to access higher-paying tasks
- Providing banking details and personal information
- Referring friends and family, further expanding the scam’s reach
The Final Verdict
The Social Path scam is not an isolated incident—it is part of a coordinated and escalating pattern of fraudulent WhatsApp recruitment schemes. These scams target job seekers’ financial struggles while weaponising the reputations of real companies to appear credible.
The rapid succession of nearly identical scams suggests that fraudsters are refining their tactics, making each new scheme more deceptive and convincing.
For companies, this means vigilantly monitoring their brand names and publicly addressing fraudulent use of their identities before the damage spreads.
For job seekers, this is yet another stark reminder that if an offer sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.
If you receive a suspicious job offer, do not engage. Instead:
- Verify recruitment claims directly through official company websites
- Avoid sharing personal or banking details with unknown sources
- Report fraudulent messages to WhatsApp and relevant authorities
By staying alert, we can expose these scams, minimise their impact, and protect both job seekers and businesses from further exploitation.
The post Social Path Becomes the Latest Victim in an Ongoing Wave of WhatsApp Recruitment Scams appeared first on Political Analysis South Africa.
