A LinkedIn post that says Paxful is hiring for the position of Customer Service Representative in Canada with $18-35 per hour salary has been circulating widely in Nigeria.
The post, published by one Amina Yusuf on LinkedIn on October 25, 2023, is attracting engagement online especially from job seekers on the social media platform.
This is trending following the growth of remote works necessitated by technology development in today’s digital world, which enable individuals to ‘work from home.’
LinkedIn, a business and job-focused social media platform that works through websites and mobile applications, was founded in 2002 but officially launched on May 5, 2003. It has been acquired and now wholly owned by Microsoft since December 2016.
The platform, primarily used for professional networking and career development, allows job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post job offers.
However, it appears to be getting infiltrated gradually by individuals who aim at deceiving unsuspecting job seekers with employment scams.
Paxful is a peer-to-peer marketplace for cryptocurrency transactions with over 1.5 million users in Nigeria, though it initially shut down operations in the country in April 2023. It was founded by Artur Schaback and Ray Youssef and connects buyers and sellers of Bitcoins globally.
CLAIM
Paxful is hiring for the position of Customer Service Representative in Canada with $18-35 per hour salary.
THE FINDINGS
Checks show that the claim is FALSE, as this is an employment scam.
A critical look at the career page of the company’s official website revealed that the company currently does not have any vacancy position advertised. This was also evident on its verified X handle, Facebook and Instagram account: @paxful.
It will be recalled that the LinkedIn post by Aminat Yusuf had asked interested candidates to comment Yes on the post; and for individuals who commented, they were asked to send their names, email and location.
The post had claimed that Paxful is hiring for the position of Customer Service Representative in Canada for a Full Time Position with an Interview Schedule Online.
Meanwhile, on Paxful’s website, a blog post on how to get start a career with them listed their 7 hiring steps to follow thus:
Looking to join the peer-to- peer finance revolution, here’s how our hiring process works:
Mutual Fit: we aim for an ideal fit on both sides through several conversations during the hiring process. We’re looking for talented candidates, but we want you to be confident that Paxful is the right place for you too.
Submit Application: see a role at Paxful that suits you? Submit an application and tell us why you’d be a great addition to the team.
Let’ chat: if your application stands out, we’ll call you to learn more about you and your career history.
Initial Interview: tell us how your skills and experience can help our mission.
Task Assignment: time to show us what you can do.
Second Interview: you’re almost there! You’ll meet peers and department leaders to make sure it’s a good fit.
Offer and contract: welcome to the Paxful family.”
It, however, does not have any clickable link for submission of applications.
Also, Aminat Yusuf’s LinkedIn account has only 84 connections with 95 followers and the Paxful job happens to be the only post she has ever made on her page. In fact, her profile does not suggests she works with Paxful.
However, one Jesse Ugwunwa, who also commented on Aminat’s post on LinkedIn described the job offer as a scam.
The FactCheckHub recalls that Paxful has, over a year ago, cautioned individuals seeking to build career in the company to beware of fake job offers, as several fake websites had been created in its brand name.
In its LinkedIn post, the company stated that: “It has come to our attention that scammers are impersonating Paxful employees using the @paxfulcareers.com domain address. Please note that this is not the legitimate domain address for Paxful. Our domain name is www.paxful.com. Our website lists the current openings of the company. If you have any questions as to whether an employment offer from Paxful is legitimate, please contact us directly at [email protected].’’
Paxful, in a blog post published on its official website in December 2020, enlightens readers about the increasing Bitcoins phishing attacks and how to protect themselves against such.
The FactCheckHub has, over the year, debunked multiple phishing claims as seen here, here and here. You can also learn more about how to identify phishing scams and websites on our tutorial page.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Paxful is hiring for the position of Customer Service Representative in Canada is FALSE; findings show that it is an employment scam.
* This fact-check was written by Mercy Adeola Ojo-Ehinmodu, a fellow of the ICIR’s Countering Misinformation and Promoting Media Literacy project, supported by the German Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria.