Scammers Are Posing As Recruiters To Steal Money, Info
They promise easy work-from-home jobs, large payouts, and dream jobs. However, job searchers are being played rather than getting hired.
Although the schemes differ, the warning signs are often the same: unreliable recruiters contacting you via Gmail or WhatsApp, requests for money up front, and ambiguous but attractive job offers that require little to no experience.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the job portal FlexJobs, and CBS News, recruitment scams are on the rise as scammers employ more complex strategies to steal money and personal information from job seekers.
Although the schemes differ, the warning signs are often the same: unreliable recruiters contacting you via Gmail or WhatsApp, requests for money up front, and ambiguous but attractive job offers that require little to no experience.
Some con artists pretend to be actual recruiters, even assuming the roles of hiring managers at reputable businesses.
Others offer related positions at certain companies or place phony job postings on reputable employment boards, frequently requesting payment for materials, application fees, or training.
Scams using mystery shoppers that require depositing a check and then sending money back are also possible; these schemes nearly invariably result in financial loss.
Experts advise job searchers to follow a few easy guidelines and trust their gut feelings to prevent becoming victims.
These guidelines include never paying for a job, refraining from disclosing private information too soon in the hiring process, and always confirming the authenticity of recruiters using LinkedIn or the company’s official website.
The FTC urges reporting any suspicious behavior and cautions that respectable employers would never request funds or bank account information prior to hiring.
An offer is most likely fraudulent if it seems too good to be true.
