by TheScamHater
Sun Oct 04, 2020 10:04 am
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many employment scammers are taking advantage of the increasing unemployment rate to prey on unsuspecting victims. Here are a few questions to keep in mind and red flags to watch out for.
1. Does the job sound too good to be true?
Trust your gut instinct. If the job sounds too good to be true, it is. Are they offering you benefits and pay far higher than the industry average that someone with your skills and experience should expect to receive?
2. Did you apply to this job?
Keep track of the jobs you applied to via a spreadsheet and be very careful of recruiters who reach out to you without you contacting them first. Companies with competitive job offers almost NEVER mass mail applicants. They let applicants come to them.
3. Does the company letterhead look legitimate?
Compare the letterhead of the "employment offer" to the company website. Do they match? Does the letterhead look professional? The letterhead should be a high quality image.
4. Is the recruiter using a corporate domain?
All companies have a corporate domain ([email protected]). Hiring managers will never communicate with you using a personal (gmail/yahoo/hotmail) account.
5. Do not send a hiring manger your personal information until you confirm his/her identity
If you suspect the legitimacy of the "hiring manger", you can ask him/her to provide an employee ID. In addition to that, you can also call the company he/she claims to work for. Even companies that outsource their HR staff will still have their names on file if they are legitimate employees or contract workers.
6. Interviews will always be in-person or at the very least over a Zoom call/some other teleconferencing software. Interviewers will never interview over text.
7. Beware of "hiring mangers" asking you to send them money in ANY way.
They may come up with an excuse of "paying for shipping of an expensive computer we're going to ship you so you can do your job" or to "pay for documents you need to sign on as an employee". Do not send them any money. Companies always do transactions through official company accounts/pathways to maintain records. Legitimate companies who have the capacity to hire remote positions do not ask new-hires to pay or receive money from a personal account.
1. Does the job sound too good to be true?
Trust your gut instinct. If the job sounds too good to be true, it is. Are they offering you benefits and pay far higher than the industry average that someone with your skills and experience should expect to receive?
2. Did you apply to this job?
Keep track of the jobs you applied to via a spreadsheet and be very careful of recruiters who reach out to you without you contacting them first. Companies with competitive job offers almost NEVER mass mail applicants. They let applicants come to them.
3. Does the company letterhead look legitimate?
Compare the letterhead of the "employment offer" to the company website. Do they match? Does the letterhead look professional? The letterhead should be a high quality image.
4. Is the recruiter using a corporate domain?
All companies have a corporate domain ([email protected]). Hiring managers will never communicate with you using a personal (gmail/yahoo/hotmail) account.
5. Do not send a hiring manger your personal information until you confirm his/her identity
If you suspect the legitimacy of the "hiring manger", you can ask him/her to provide an employee ID. In addition to that, you can also call the company he/she claims to work for. Even companies that outsource their HR staff will still have their names on file if they are legitimate employees or contract workers.
6. Interviews will always be in-person or at the very least over a Zoom call/some other teleconferencing software. Interviewers will never interview over text.
7. Beware of "hiring mangers" asking you to send them money in ANY way.
They may come up with an excuse of "paying for shipping of an expensive computer we're going to ship you so you can do your job" or to "pay for documents you need to sign on as an employee". Do not send them any money. Companies always do transactions through official company accounts/pathways to maintain records. Legitimate companies who have the capacity to hire remote positions do not ask new-hires to pay or receive money from a personal account.
Do not send money (especially Western Union Money Gram) to a stranger on the Internet! It's a scam! No matter the reason! Don't trust them!
DO NOT tell a scammer his information is posted here or you know he is a fraud
DO NOT tell a scammer his information is posted here or you know he is a fraud
