Career Recruiting Scams Targeting Job Hunters, Blog

Job hunting can be a stressful experience. The increase of remote work has created a new market for scammers as the entire hiring process can now be done virtually. Many people have received an unsolicited text or call containing a job interview or offer that sounds promising but in reality, it's a scam. Job scams increased 118% in 2023 from 2022 so it's important to know the red flags to look out for when identifying a job opportunity as a scam.

How to Spot a Job Opportunity Scam

One of the most obvious signs of a scam is being unsolicited and too good to be true. The text or email would read something along the lines of:

"Are you interested in remote work? It can be done with no time or location restrictions. Work for $100 an hour. If you would like to participate, please contact our employer for more information at [email protected]. This is the perfect opportunity to improve your life. Don't miss it."

There are many red flags in this text to look out for should you or someone you know receive a text or call such as this:

• No mention of company name - many scams will not list a business name or they may pose as a known corporation.
• Generic contact email - Most legitimate companies have personalized email domains and do not use free email services such as Gmail and Outlook.
• The "too good to be true" aspect - $100 an hour with no schedule or location restrictions sounds like a great opportunity. While these jobs do exist, scammers will advertise this to sound appealing.

Combined with the other red flags, it's safe to say that this text is a scam.

The FAQs of Job Scammers

There are many other red flags to keep an eye out for when receiving job offers. Some scams will ask you to buy equipment such as a laptop or webcam. They will send you a check to buy the equipment from a manufacturer, but the "manufacturer" is not legitimate and will pocket the cash. There have also been scams reported where the "employer" asks targets to buy equipment for their new job, and have it shipped directly to the "new employer" to install software. It often never makes its way back to their target as there is no job, so no need for new equipment. Legitimate companies would not ask you to buy equipment in this manner.

Employment scams may also ask for your bank information for many reasons, commonly for a "credit check" or to wire transfer payments to you. While you would have to give your bank information to an employer to be paid, this is not done during the initial hiring process. Be extremely wary of who you share your bank information with.

Before you share information with a potential employer, make sure you follow our steps for staying protected from job hunting scams:

• Research the company and the recruiter on websites such as LinkedIn or reach out to the company if it is a legitimate company. They may be being spoofed without realizing.
• Check their email, if they are using Gmail or Outlook, they likely aren't legitimate. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Trust your instincts and protect your personal information when searching for a job.

It is best practice to never engage with unknown numbers and report phone numbers being used by scammers to your carrier. If you believe you are the victim of a scam, you can report it to your local police, state Attorney General's office and the FTC.

Call-blocking apps, including those powered by TNS Call Guardian®, are also a great resource for reporting and blocking unwanted robocalls. Stay vigilant, share information about scams with others and be sure to check out our monthly Scam of the Month page updates.

John Haraburda is Product Lead for TNS Call Guardian® with specific responsibilities for TNS' Communications Market solutions.

Call Guardian is a registered trademark of Transaction Network Services, Inc.

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