‘Tis the season… for job scams.
Okay, honestly they’re year-round, but the holidays often mean an uptick in these nefarious attempts. How can you spot a scam in advance, and what should you do if you fall for one?
The point of scams of any sort, of course, is to trick the unwary into giving sensitive information so that the evil-doers can use it, or get you to send money for things like “background checks” and so forth. I suspect that the increase in these postings has to do with the anxiety people can feel around the holidays, as gift-giving season looms. (This makes it all extra evil in my book, preying on people’s desire to be generous.)
So how can you spot the scams in advance? The first thing is that anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. Many scammers will use the name of a legitimate business to post their fake jobs, so be sure to check the sender’s email or other contact details. There are also fake recruiters who ask for fees for your placement or for “training,” but real agencies are paid by the employers, not by you. Other warning signs include things like requests for any form of up-front payment or personal information. Naturally, a true job offer eventually requires you to share some details like your bank account for payment, but this will come much later in the process, after you have gone through the interview process, met your boss and colleagues, and signed a contract. Also, keep on the lookout for anything involving money transfers. Real jobs and employers won’t ask you to cash a check or transfer funds or anything along those lines.
In short, avoid anything that:
- Offers pay that seems too high for simple tasks
- Has a vague job description or doesn’t name the employer
- Has poor or awkward grammar, spelling, or punctuation in the posting
- Asks for personal information at the start
- Requests payment of any type, for any reason
- Comes from a strange email address—check carefully by hovering over the “from” line
- Is from someone with no online presence, insufficient employer information, or lots of negative review
- Makes an offer without an interview, or with an extremely short hiring cycle
But what if you’ve been fooled by one of these? First of all, try not to panic or blame yourself. These are tricky, manipulative people who make their living by finding ways to trick you. If you have been a victim of a scam:
- Immediately stop all interactions with the scammers, even if you’re tempted to give them a piece of your mind.
- Alert your financial institutions if you’ve given out any financial information.
- Change your passwords, especially on sensitive sites.
- Report the scam to the job board, and then to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and the FTC’s fraud report center. (You can also report things you suspect through your email server, though I’m unclear how much good that does.)
- Finally, if you’re afraid you’ve given out personal info that might put you at risk of identity theft, consider freezing your credit on the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Transunion, and Equifax. This will ensure that nobody else can open an account with your info, but it is a pain to deal with, so be ready.
Many job boards, including LinkedIn, try to filter the scams out, but some will inevitably slip through. These scammers are very manipulative, and some are unfortunately very good at what they do.
