9 Ways to Identify Job Scams for Job Seekers
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As a job seeker, it's critical to increase awareness in order to identify and avoid job scams. With waves of layoffs in the last two years, job scammers are eagerly taking advantage of a crowded market. Learn how to protect yourself from scammers seeking money, personal information, or free labor.
Use these tips to identify and avoid job scams to protect yourself during your search for a legitimate new role.
1. Do your research to avoid job scams
Before applying for any job, research the company thoroughly. Check their website, social media presence, and online reviews to verify their legitimacy. Glassdoor is a popular resource for checking out company reviews and getting the inside scoop on employers. If the company has a poor online presence or lacks information about their products or services, consider it a red flag.
Search for news about the company, including funding milestones or if they’re a publicly-traded org, annual reports or other information relevant to shareholders.
2. Watch out for job postings with vague descriptions
Legitimate companies usually provide a detailed job description, including the required qualifications and responsibilities. If the job posting or ad doesn’t provide specific details about the job responsibilities, qualifications, or compensation, it might signal a job scam to avoid. Real postings should have clear and concise descriptions of what the job entails and the qualifications required.
3. Be cautious of unsolicited employment offers – if it sounds like a job scam – it probably is
If you receive a job offer without having applied for a job, chances are you are dealing with a scam. While recruiters may reach out to notify you about job opportunities, legit companies do not send out unsolicited job offers to random people. This is another point where you should do some research. Look into the individual’s LinkedIn profile and be careful before clicking any links they share with you.
Another tip when receiving a mysterious email is to check the sender’s email address. They may have taken pains to look like they represent a company, with logos, for example. But their email address is a Gmail account or some alphabet number salad, bypass it.
4. Never pay for a job
If a job requires you to pay a fee for training, equipment, inventory, or any other reason, you have a scam on your hands. Employers should be paying you. Legitimate companies never require job seekers to make upfront payments.
Everyone knows someone who’s been bewitched into a MLM, or multi-level-marketing situation. While some people are successful, the majority end up losing money or stuck with loads of prepaid inventory they can’t sell. "Being your own boss” or launching your own small business is often appealing but be cautious if you’re asked to assume a lot of expenses and risk through an MLM type venture.
5. Be wary of extra high-paying job offers
If a job offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious of job offers that promise high pay for minimal work or require little to no experience.
Related: Try LHH’s salary calculator to see how companies value your experience.
6. Verify the job offer
Before accepting a job offer, verify it with the company directly. Scammers often use fake company names and email addresses to impersonate legitimate companies.
7. Protect your personal identifying information
Do not provide your personal identifying information, or PII, such as your social security or bank account numbers, until you have verified the legitimacy of the company and the job offer. Employers should only ask for this information after you’ve been hired.
A note on background checks
Typically, any part-time, full-time, or IC employee, regardless of department, seniority, or employment status, will complete a background check.
Expect to complete once an offer is in hand. It's common to find a sentence in the offer letter stating, “Please understand that your offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check.”
Companies often use third-party services for their background checks like Checkr, Trusted Employees, GoodHire, and ShareAble.
Background checks usually cover:
- County Criminal Search (Current)
- National Criminal Search (Standard)
- Sex Offender Search
- SSN Trace
- Global Watchlist Search
The timeframe of background checks may vary by company, with some looking for current data and others looking into the past 5+ years.
Sometimes background checks include a credit check. This is for a few different reasons. According to NerdWallet, these checks are more likely if your role involves security clearance or access to confidential customer data, company information, or budgets/money. They don’t see your credit score, but a high-level version of your credit report. Basically, they’re looking for any signals of financial problems suggesting a vulnerability to fraud, blackmail, embezzlement, or theft.
8. Job scams often target workers receiving benefits
If you’re unemployed and plan to file for unemployment insurance, be careful. Do not google “unemployment benefits” to apply. Many of the top search results are fake sites, encouraging you to register your claim while taking your personal information. Instead, get the correct agency’s URL from your former employer or verify them through your state government site.
Even after you’re registered, be careful when it comes to communication. Many scammers send texts suggesting there’s a problem with your benefits. They might say they need additional financial information to process your claim. Or that you’re owed additional money and they need to confirm information.
The majority of workforce agencies communicate with you by mail or a secure portal on the website. If you get a text that appears suspicious – do not click on any links or respond. Report it for phishing, block the number, and delete it.
Beware of phishy emails
One of the classic “tells” of a phishing email has always been misspellings or poor grammar. It’s safe to assume that with ChatGPT and other AI tools, scammers of all varieties will use them to their advantage. So, be extra vigilant.
Quick tips to avoid the “bait” of phishing emails or texts
- Be suspicious of messages requiring “urgent” action. These emails or texts may appeart to be from a reputable-sounding source or government agency, suggesting there’s a problem with your benefits, taxes, or even a warrant for your arrest.
- Don’t open attachments if you don’t know the sender.
- Consider the timing. These bad actors will exploit your daily habits or seasons. For example, during the lead up to gift-giving holidays, you may get an email or text attempting to look like a delivery service indicating there’s a problem with your package. Or from a well-known company saying there’s a problem with your order.
- Curiosity is a good thing but not when baited. Have you seen the social media posts tagging several people, including a link to a “news article” with some vague sentiment such as “I’m sure going to miss them?” Don’t click.
- Who are you really? Scammers will sometimes pretend to be someone in your organization, like the CEO, and text or email indicating they need your assistance. There is no realistic situation when your CEO will need you to send them a gift card. Alert your internal IT team to it and move on.
This is also a good time to make sure you have your voicemail set up. It’s tempting to quickly answer calls when you’re job hunting, but let it go to voicemail if you don’t recognize the number.
First, job scammers often like to record you saying “yes” or other things they can manipulate later. Second, it’s often better to take a beat and return the legitimate calls when you have the time to focus on your responses. This also provides an opportunity to call back in a quiet or private environment and to have materials (resume, portfolios, etc.) available.
9. Trust your instincts and inquire to avoid job scams
If something seems off or suspicious about a job offer or company, trust your gut and proceed with caution. Ask questions about the company, culture, role responsibilities, etc. to evaluate the opportunity.
While you should inquire about these aspects for any job (whether it’s a scam or not!), questions will help you weigh the legitimacy. Real employers and recruiters would be happy to share more about the company and verify its authenticity.
Legitimate work from home jobs
Even as companies have issued Return to Office (RTO) mandates and reclassified remote roles as hybrid, there are still legitimate work from home jobs. Stuffing envelopes, a classic fake job posting, isn’t one of them.
Technical assessments are common for tech roles
When it comes to tech roles, it is common for employers to request job seekers complete technical assessments and coding challenges. If you are seeking a job in tech, keep in mind what’s reasonable when it comes to these tests. We asked a Senior Internal Recruiter, Jules Grondin, for her insights. Here’s what she had to say:
- You should be given notice ahead of time on the languages used in the tech assessment or have the option to choose the language you’re most comfortable with to complete it.
- Expect to spend about 60-75 minutes independently on a tech assessment. This does not include a follow-up interview with the hiring manager or team.
- To expedite the tech interview process, ask about the tech stack from the start and tailor your work examples accordingly. Be eager and ask questions. Teams will prioritize scheduling and next steps to candidates who actively engage and are excited about the opportunity.
- While accuracy is important, employers often look for your thought process in solving any sort of tech assessment. It’s important to show your work and be able to speak to your reasoning.
Every role is different but know what might be fair to expect from potential employers as a tech candidate.
Related: Want to brush up on technical or other work-related skills? General Assembly offers courses in various subjects to help you demonstrate your curiosity and commitment as a lifelong learner. Get info about their courses and workshops in coding, project management, digital marketing, data, and more.
Interview assignments or free consulting?
Sometimes you may feel the tasks assigned during the interview process amount to providing “free work.” If you get these types of assignments, (could be in almost any industry), judge whether it’s reasonable.
It’s common to ask candidates to demonstrate their knowledge in a task. In marketing, for example, you may be asked to create a press release, make a presentation, or draft social posts. These assignments are intended to determine several things, including how you follow directions, what questions you ask, and your attention to detail.
If you feel, however, that you’re being asked to provide free consultation, such as “build a marketing plan for our business calling out specifics including what you’d do differently on our social channels,” take a pause. If you anticipate spending more than an hour or two on it, consult with your LHH recruiter or outplacement specialist to determine the legitimacy of the request. In many cases, a strong portfolio and past project analytics should suffice.
Want an easier job search? Use LHH to find your next role!
The job search process can be daunting and even more so if you don’t avoid job scams. Phishing and other obstacles complicate the search and may take both a financial and emotional toll on unsuspecting job seekers. Follow these tips to protect yourself, evaluate opportunities, and have a smooth job search!