Steer Clear of Remote Job Scams With These 8 Tips
Today’s job search is vastly different from the job search of five years ago. With the increase in remote jobs, scammers have taken advantage of the opportunity to use remote job scams for phishing and robbing job seekers of data, funds, and more.
When searching for remote jobs, today’s job seekers must critically review job posts and remain aware of the possibility of job scams. Since remote job seekers don’t physically visit the employer work site during the hiring process, it makes sense they may feel uncertain or anxious. In fact, a survey by FlexJobs found that 48% of job seekers have some anxiety or fear related to falling prey to remote job scams.
As a remote job seeker, how should you safeguard your finances and personal information during the job search process? How can you avoid remote job scans? What is the likelihood you may fall prey to scammers?
All About Remote Job Scans
Before launching a remote job search, what do you need to know about remote job scams? Cassie Foco, director of education for Elevate Community Ministries, shares her recent experience with remote job scams.
“I was almost scammed twice this year. Thankfully I picked up on it before too much information was shared. Both times they started by asking to set up a call. When I responded with my availability, they quickly switched gears, didn’t want to speak over the phone, and mentioned something like, ‘We will send you a link to the application questions.’
The ‘recruiters’ had very realistic LinkedIn profiles, but when I started digging, I found that the companies they claimed to work for had broken website links or web pages which were totally fake,” Foco explains. Unfortunately, Foco’s experience is fairly common. Today’s job seekers have to be truly savvy, mindful, and conscientious to recognize and avoid job scams.
Likelihood You Will Be Scammed
What is the likelihood you will be scammed when searching for remote jobs? Remote job scams have become a true criminal enterprise with such a considerable uptick in job seekers looking for remote jobs.
The FlexJobs survey found that 17% of job seekers have been scammed at least once. Whether the scammer is seeking immediate funds or access to job seekers’ data, job seekers are regularly harmed by remote job scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that in 2019, job seekers who were scammed lost $3000 on average.
Common Remote Job Scams
Remote job scammers can be creative, so it’s important to be aware of the types of scams you may encounter.
- Fake URLs, photos, and company names
- Phishing for access to your personal or financial data
- Communicating through chat apps
- Snagging you with a Google Docs mention
- Data entry, envelope stuffing, and pyramid marketing schemes
- Requiring you to complete a wire transfer before hire
- Unsolicited job offers
- Fake career advancement grants
Reporting Remote Job Scams
If you recognize a remote job scam, what should you do? First, protect yourself by changing passwords, blocking profiles, or otherwise distancing yourself from the job scammer. Secondly, report remote job scams to the appropriate agencies.
- Federal Trade Commission (Check out their video on reporting a scam and more ways to avoid fraud.)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Center
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Better Business Bureau
Eight Ways to Avoid Remote Job Scams
While no one can completely prevent being victimized by scams, there are practical, simple ways to verify employers, check credentials, and avoid scams.
- Avoid email addresses for employers which look like personal email addresses. Review the email signature. Is there a link to the employer’s website? If you still feel suspicious, you can always search for the employer on the company website, if an employee directory is available, or reach out to the company’s human resources office to verify the employment of the individual contacting you. Be sure to search for the company website separately when doing this rather than clicking on the link provided in the email signature or body of the email(s) sent to you.
- Research employers before applying. Does the employer have a reputable website? Is the job listing you found on a job board also listed on their main career page? If not, you may be better off calling the human resources office listed on the website to verify the opening before proceeding.
- Be cautious about applying for remote jobs that sound way too good to be true. If the salary listed is twice that of similar remote jobs, you may have identified a remote job scam.
- Don’t apply for jobs if postings are full of grammatical and mechanical errors. Legitimate employers revise and edit job postings multiple times and post error-free job advertisements.
- Be leery of any employer or recruiter who contacts you before you have even completed an application.
- Avoid communicating with employers via messaging apps and text messages. While some of these means of communication may be used, your job search should include email, phone, and virtual interviews, too. Communicating on Zoom or another video conferencing platform may help you verify the employer’s legitimacy.
- Do not share personal or financial information with employers until after you have been formally hired. No legitimate employer will ask you to pay for a background check, training, etc. Legitimate employers will also not ask you for personal identification information, including your Social Security Number, until you are completing new hire paperwork. Only enter that information online if you have verified the legitimacy of the employer’s website (should begin with https://).
- Talk to someone you trust if you recognize a potential remote job scam, preferably a mentor or someone with more workplace and job search experience. Others can often see red flags more easily than we can, especially if we’re truly desperate for a new job opportunity.
Ultimately, you cannot completely prevent victimization by remote job scammers. However, you can take practical steps to remain aware and recognize scams, and to report scams if you identify them.
