At Pendo, trust and transparency are first-order considerations in our relationships with customers, partners, employees, and the public. With those values in mind, we want to warn you about, and encourage you to be vigilant of, recent instances of fraudulent job offers purporting to be from Pendo and/or its affiliate companies.
Our friends over at CoSpark put together an excellent and informative warning page about this scheme and have graciously allowed us to use their materials within this post to help spread the word and keep unknowing victims safe. With the tech community working together, our hope is to bring this scam to an end both to protect our trusted brands and the job seekers in this industry.
Scammers are using our name, “Pendo”, impersonating our website, and claiming to be affiliated with Pendo as part of a global job recruitment scam known as “Webwyrm.” This fraudulent scheme is detailed in a whitepaper by CloudSEK, and involves the impersonation of over 1,000 companies where scammers attempt to take advantage of victims predominantly by engaging with them through social media platforms, with WhatsApp and Telegram noted as primary channels.
Please note that Pendo does not recruit talent through WhatsApp, Telegram or any other direct-messaging systems other than e-mail and, during the interview process, phone numbers. We also do not request sensitive personal or financial information in an unsolicited manner, nor do we offer employment opportunities that require upfront payments or promise unrealistic returns. All open positions at Pendo are listed on our careers page located at https://www.pendo.io/careers/. Please only apply to Pendo roles via our careers page.
How to identify the Webwyrm scam
The Webwyrm scam often manifests through social media and messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. Key indicators include:
- Unexpected job offers: Unsolicited offers from entities posing as reputable companies.
- Request for personal information: Early requests for sensitive personal or financial details.
- Upfront payments or investments: Job offers requiring initial investments or fees.
- High returns for simple tasks: Promises of substantial returns for minimal effort.
- Urgency and secrecy: A sense of urgency and requests for confidentiality.
- Changing domains: Frequently changing the URL you must visit.
How to protect yourself
- Verify communications: Confirm the legitimacy of any Pendo-related job offers by contacting us at [email protected].
- Guard your information: Do not share personal or financial information with unverified sources.
- Recognize the red flags: Be cautious of offers requiring you to make upfront investments or deposits, or promising easy money.
- Report suspicious activities: Contact us at [email protected] if you encounter anything suspicious related to our brand.
- Report on messaging platforms: If you receive suspicious messages on platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram, report them directly within the app. Most messaging platforms have an option to report spam or fraudulent activities. This alerts the platform’s security team and aids in preventing the spread of such scams.
If you believe you have been victimized by a scam, you should file a report with your local law enforcement agencies. While they may not be able to help you immediately recover any lost funds, these reports help them identify and track the criminal organizations that are running these scams.
If you are a US citizen, you can file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In addition, because you may have shared personal information with the fraudsters, you should monitor for potential signs of identity theft. If you suspect that identity theft has occurred, visit IdentityTheft.gov to learn more about how to file a report and build a recovery plan.
How Pendo is responding
In response to the unauthorized use of our name and brand, Pendo is investing significant resources and efforts to have impersonating domains taken down. While we have no affiliation with, or control over, these bad actors, and are not liable for their actions, we do apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this scam may have caused you. We are committed to helping to resolve this issue and maintaining your trust and confidence in Pendo.
