Public Service Announcement: Recruitment scams are on the rise.
March 8, 2024 Update
Follow these important tips to stay safe.
Beware of recruitment scams that impersonate employers or recruiters, offering easy, high-salary jobs. Through a “grooming” process that seems legitimate, victims believe they are working for a new employer, when in actuality, fraudsters are getting access to personal and bank account information.
How to Avoid Falling for a Recruitment Scam
To recognize, and not fall for, recruitment scams, be vigilant:
Beware of ways that fraudsters “prove” legitimacy: Some fraudsters pose as real companies or real staffing agencies and point to those companies’ official websites or business license documents to prove legitimacy. Know that anyone can show people publicly accessible information such as websites and business documents. Even a photo of a badge may not be real.
Beware of being asked to deposit or withdraw money to/from personal accounts. While real employers may eventually need your account information for payroll, fraudsters can exploit this common practice to access financial accounts and steal.
Be careful with legitimate platforms that can easily be exploited such as WhatsApp, Discord and Crypto. While legitimate for many businesses and transactions, these environments can be easily exploited; the privacy promises these platforms make also mean that there is no traceability or way to find bad guys.
Watch out for fake URLs or email addresses that are slightly off from the real company (for instance, “mostlikelyto.com, versus mostlikelyto-abc.com)
Beware of upfront payment requests: Legitimate employers will not require payment for training, equipment, and/or administrative fees before starting work.
Beware of “too good to be true” job offers without an interview. Trust intuition and common sense.
Tips for checking if job offers are real
Verify the job posting or company: Cross-check the job details provided with the company’s official website or other reputable job portals. Be sure you are checking the official website and not a duplicate version at a slightly different URL.
Contact the employer directly: Beware when “employers” or “recruiters” will only communicate through WhatsApp or other untraceable platforms. Use the contact info on the official website to check for validation.
What to do if you suspect a scam
Do not try to stop them yourself. Some of these people are involved in organized crime and can be dangerous. Simply block the email address, phone number, message, or URL and stop engaging.
Report the fraudsters. It takes just a few minutes on these two reputable sites: