Scammers and fraudsters are targeting people through job listings to get money or gain identity information from unsuspecting job applicants. It is important to evaluate job postings and solicitations. Trust your instincts!
Look out for these warning signs:
▪ Job listings that have very poor grammar or bad spelling.
▪ Request for money, gift cards, or purchase of equipment as a condition of application or employment.
▪ Request for financial information, credit card information, personal documents, or photographs.
▪ Request to send a resume to a generic email address such as Gmail or Yahoo should be researched to ensure that it is actually to a legitimate organization.
▪ Email address that is from a different domain than the organization or company that is posting the job.
▪ Jobs that involve cashing checks, accepting wire transfers, transferring money, or using your bank account for any financial transaction on behalf of the company.
▪ Employers who refuse to meet face-to-face. Interviews that are solely conducted over the telephone is highly suspect.
▪ An offer that is given almost immediately.
It is good practice to research the company posting the job. Not only will it help to prepare for the interview, it can raise red flags to potential scams. If a job listing is suspect, contact the job board administrator to report the post.