Episode #6, Season 3 of Phishy Business: A Real Life Phishy Business: Jobfished, Catfished by Your Boss?

In this episode of Phishy Business, we dig into the viral BBC documentary called Jobfished, which tells the story of an alleged con that tricked a pool of design workers into working for a fake agency…for free!

Special guests Catrin Nye, the investigative journalist who broke the story, and renowned people hacker and social engineer Jenny Radcliffe get into the details of this unbelievable story.

In ‘A Real Life Phishy Business: Jobfished, Catfished by Your Boss?’, we discuss:

How the story of over 50 people from across the world being tricked into doing working for free for a fake agency was discovered in a WhatsApp group
How the scammer used social engineering and stock pictures in marketing materials and social media to trick prospective employees
The motive behind a strange con like this – it’s not always about making money – sometimes it is about stealing your time, seeking fame, and capturing attention
How the investigation led back to one person at the top, who has never admitted his guilt or why he did it, and how some believe this was a fake-it-until-you-make it scam
How COVID-19 restrictions and workers new to working from home created the perfect storm for this phishy business
The four red flags in every con: emotion, urgency, reward, and a clear call to action
The power of curiosity – even the smartest people can be duped when they become curious about a new opportunity