Don’t be fooled by job scams.
Job scams commonly:
- Require you to pay for a job opportunity or work-related supplies. For example, the job listings may require candidates to pay a fee to complete their application or to get started in the role. Never pay for a job opportunity!
- Request sensitive personal information, including copies of government issued IDs or tax related information. For example, a bad actor may request a copy of your driver’s license or passport to arrange for an online interview. Never share your sensitive personal information online without validating the authenticity of recipient.
- Involve unusual forms of compensation, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency. Ensure you are properly paid for your valuable time and services.
Look for the following warning signs of job scams:
- Recruiters who are a bit too eager. Scammers posing as a recruiter or hiring manager may contact you first, be extremely persistent, or offer a job right away.
- Job opportunities that are too good to be true. Bad actors may try to lure victims by posting a position that offers extremely high pay and flexibility or tempting victims with promises of lucrative perks and incentives.
- Employers engaged in unprofessional conduct. Legitimate employers are unlikely to send you poorly written emails, reach out to you in unconventional ways, or waste time by postings job openings with very little detail.
Avoid being scammed by bad actors claiming to work for a trusted business.
Business Impersonation scams commonly:
- Create a false sense of urgency. Business impersonation scams often come with an urgent, unexpected request for you to take action. Always slow down to validate the authenticity of requests involving payments or access to your computer or network.
- Involve threats or create fear. Impersonators pretend to help you avoid serious harms to you or your business. They may escalate their demands, perhaps by contacting you frequently, with threats of steep fines or late payment fees, deportation or law action, or other significant losses. Ask if a legitimate business would engage in the communication tactics that accompany a request.
- Appear to come from a trusted company. Bad actors take advantage of the goodwill that comes with a trusted name to trick people into a quick response. Scammers make their communications appear or sound authentic using commonly available tools. With the ability to easily create fake websites, accounts, images, and other media, impersonators can be difficult to detect. When in doubt, contact a business directly to verify a request.
Look for the following warning signs of business impersonation scams:
- Imposters may have unusual contact information. Imposters may use a free email domain (e.g., gmail.com) rather than one from a business account and the email address may contain misspellings, special characters, or numbers. Imposters may also claim to have recently changed their contact information or engage with you in unconventional ways, such as through social media channels.
- Scammers may claim their processes have changed. Scammers may hold themselves out to be a business you know and trick you into engaging with them through unconventional methods. For example, they may direct you to an unfamiliar website to make a payment or require you to install new software or an app.
- Imposters may require you to authenticate. Never provide your credentials, such as your username and password or PIN, upon receiving an unexpected request or communication.
Protect Yourself
Protect yourself from scams by spotting red flags, doing your research, and protecting your data.
- Always verify the identity of those you engage with online. Check email addresses and account information for red flags. Conduct an online search to verify the existence of an employer or business.
- Pause. When faced with an urgent, high-stakes, or unexpected request, take time to validate its authenticity.
- Use caution when engaging with the content of communications. Don’t open or download any attachments, which may contain malicious software, or click on links until you’ve verified the authenticity of the communication.
- End contact with anyone who threatens or intimidates you. Legitimate businesses will not use these tactics to urge you to take action. Stop engaging when faced with threats of harm.
- Always use caution when sharing your personal information. Never share sensitive information with strangers. Be particularly careful when asked for sensitive information, such as government issued identification, which can be used to steal your identity.
- Don’t pay for a job opportunity. Legitimate employers will never ask for payment information during the hiring process.
- If an individual claims to have new contact information, try the existing information you’ve known to be accurate, or ask him or her to provide information to prove their identify.