Job search scams look very appealing, and even smart people "fall" for them. The result can be loss of the money you do have, trouble with the IRS or other law enforcement agency, and identity theft when your SSN is provided to the fake "employer." Trust AFTER you verify!
Don't expect to get paid if you fall for one of these scams, even if you do some "work" for them. You could face very unpleasant consequences in the loss of your identity, loss of your money, and, if they get your unwitting cooperation in a crime, loss of your freedom and reputation.
Online Job Search Scams?
You will find these scams in e-mail sent to you by people you don't know, posted on Websites you know and trust, and also on Websites you think you've heard of or you have never heard of. The major sources are described further below, on this page.
The goals of these scams are to make money for the scammers through:
- Selling the information they collect from you to spammers and identity thieves.
- Getting access to your bank account so they can take money out of it.
- Your cooperation in an illegal activity for their benefit, like receiving and then re-shipping stolen property.
- Having you to send/transfer your money to them.
These are the general categories of scams. New scams do pop up all the time, so this is not, unfortunately, a complete list.
For more information on job search scams, check the articles listed in "More on Avoiding Scams" in the box on the right.
Where Are the 5 Major Types of Job Search Scams?
The scammers are endlessly creative, so this is not everything, by any means. But these are the major scams I've observed and learned about.
1. E-mail
Maybe it's an email claiming they found your resume on Monster or CareerBuilder or their company Website, etc., but they say they think you might be just the candidate for this particular job. You might not even remember applying (and, probably, you didn't apply) or even seeing the employer's name. But, they are very interested in hiring you, and all you need to do to get the job is send them more personal information like your Social Security Number and...
Be very wary of an email from an anonymous employer or recruiter. Regardless of the logos and names thrown around in the email message, their email address should have the employer's or the recruiting company's domain name in it. If the employer is IBM, the email address should be sent to the domain name for that employer, as in BillSmith@IBM.com. Do not trust BillSmith@yahoo.com, BillSmith@gmail.com, IBM-recruiting@gmail.com, BillSmithIBMrecruiter@yahoo.com, etc.
What to do? Track down the employer's phone number via Superpages.com, Yahoo's Yellow Pages, some other reputable web phone directory, or simply calling Information (411). Then, call the employer to verify that they really did send the message, IF the message looks real but is not from the employer's domain name.
2. Bogus Jobs Apparently from Legitimate Employers
The job posting or the Website claim to be a well-known employer. But they aren't. It's a scam that is really using corporate identity theft - scammers are pretending to be the real employer advertising bogus jobs that are completely unrelated to the legitimate employer named in the posting or on the site.
What to do? Again, track down the employer's phone number via Superpages.com, Yahoo's Yellow Pages, some other reputable web phone directory, or simply calling Information (411). Then, call the employer to verify that they really did post the job, IF the job posting looks real but the contact information does not contain the employer's domain name or a phone number that can be traced to the employer's location.
3. Bogus Jobs on Legitimate Websites
The Website may be your favorite well-known brand name job board, Craigslist, or your professional association's "career center." I've also seen it be Google, Twitter, Facebook or your favorite social networking site.
Frankly, I wouldn't trust the jobs posted on any Website 100%, with the exception of USAJOBS.gov, and then I'd be sure that I was viewing a page of USAJOBS.gov by checking the URL in my browser. [Read Understanding Domain Names for information on how to be sure what domain you're viewing.]
The fact that an employer, or a scammer, must first pay a job board in order to post jobs does NOT guarantee that the job is legitimate. The scammers may make enough money off their scam to cover the cost of the posting. Or they may be scamming the job board, too, by using a stolen credit card to pay for the posting.
These days, the people running Websites which have job postings must work hard to make sure that they don't allow fake jobs to be posted on their sites. Unfortunately, not all of the job boards have caught on to that need, some don't do a great job, and sometimes they try but are fooled by the scammers, too.
What to do? Again, track down the employer's phone number via Superpages.com, Yahoo's Yellow Pages, some other reputable web phone directory, or simply calling Information (411). Then, call the employer to verify that they really did post the job, IF the job posting looks real but the contact information does not contain the employer's domain name or a phone number that can be traced to the employer's location.
4. Bogus Job Boards/Resume Boards
These can be hard to spot. The Website may look very professional, but their only goal is to collect as much personal information from you as possible. These sites usually require you to "register" before you can see the job postings, but they may allow you to select the "job" you want first and then collect your information. There may - or may not - be any jobs (bogus or legitimate) posted on these sites.
What to do? Look for concrete contact information (street address with city, state, and Zip, plus a phone number). As before, verify the contact information with Superpages.com, Yahoo's Yellow Pages, some other reputable web phone directory, or simply calling Information (411). Don't give them any information, register a resume, or set up a profile, unless you know they are legitimate,
5. Bogus Employer Websites
As with the bogus job boards, the bogus employer Website may look very snazzy and professional, but "no one is home." Jobs are posted for job seekers to apply for. Usually they only want your personal information and will most likely request your Social Security Number and/or bank account number for "pre-screening."
As in # 2, above, I've also seen a Website that looks like it's from Google (Google's logo is on the site and the name Google is widely used on the site), but it definitely was not Google because although Google's name was in the URL, it was not in the right place, and it most defnitley was not google.com. [Read Understanding Domain Names for information on how to be sure what domain you're viewing.] And the "jobs" unfortunately weren't with Google either. Just another scammer site.
What to do? Look for concrete contact information (street address with city, state, and Zip, plus a phone number). As before, verify the contact information with Superpages.com, Yahoo's Yellow Pages, some other reputable web phone directory, or simply calling Information (411). Don't give them any information, register a resume, or set up a profile, unless you know they are legitimate,
For More Information
Good, reliable information about job search scams is also available here:
As the wise old police sergeant from Hill Street Blues warned at the start of each shift, "Be careful out there!"
© Copyright, 1998 - 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.
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About the author...
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff "graduate" who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.
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