Women looking for work, beware of sex predators on WhatsApp looking for your nude pics

Women in Cape Town, South Africa, are being warned against a new ploy – gaining nude images while targeting job seekers.

A 21-year-old woman from Wynberg who wants to remain anonymous, recalls how she uploaded her CV or resume on numerous websites while conducting a job search.

She says a man named “Bryan” contacted her requesting lingerie models for a photo shoot. She became suspicious because she hadn’t applied for any modelling positions.

“I work in admin and was looking for a job so I uploaded my CV on a website. Last week I received a random WhatsApp message from an international number,” she explains.

The woman was advised by a man in her WhatsApp community group to keep chatting with the man to gain more information.

“I knew it was some form of prostitution or human trafficking because nobody recruits you for a job on WhatsApp,” the woman iterated. “So I kept talking to him, but was shocked to see he wanted nude pictures because I was genuinely looking for work.”

“Show me a pic of your t@#& at work in bathroom so I know you are serious,” one message read.

The person corresponding with her then offered to pay for her pictures.

Calls to the American number from the Daily Voice went unanswered.

“This is very common in human trafficking where they prey on people looking for work,” said spokesperson of South African police’s serious crime directorate, Captain Philani Nkwalase.

He added, “Once they have you in a compromising position, they will try to extort money from the victim. They say they will put it on Facebook and Twitter and you will find that they already know your profile because they have been spying on you.”

There is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the human trafficking Unit of the HAWKS – South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation regarding the incident and users are warned to exercise caution about releasing their personal information.