Dealing with recruitment scams (job fraud)
A recruitment scam - also known as job fraud - is when a malicious individual places a fake job advert or contacts you about a role with the aim of stealing your personal data and/or money. Victims are often contacted by an individual claiming to be an employer or a recruitment agent working on behalf of the employer. The criminal will then work to convince you that you are applying for a role and need to share certain data, pay fees or in some instances complete some remote work as part of the recruitment process. These fake jobs may be in a foreign country or local. It is often younger people who are targeted and the Federal Trade Commission reports Americans lost over $69 million to recruitment scams in the first quarter of 2022.
Common methods of scamming job hunters include:
Advance fee scams - you are asked for payment in the recruitment process to cover training, resume development, security or police checks, travel or local immigration fees.
Premium rate phone scams - a phone interview is set up, but the number is a premium rate number which costs you hundreds of dollars. You may be on hold waiting for the interview to start or actually go through a fake interview.
Money laundering or criminal activity - you believe you have secured a legitimate job (often a working from home role), but you are asked to carry out payments or activities that turn out to be illegal or support money laundering.
Salary-payment scam - the criminals ask for your bank details in order to pay your salary and use these details to steal money. They may ask for a remote screen share to view your online bank account and make transactions while you are on the call.
Free resource scam - they may actually pretend to give you a job, ask you to complete a number of administrative or skilled tasks and then disappear when you have delivered and not pay you.
Identity theft - you are asked to complete a number of forms asking about personal data, have to provide scans of your identity documents and generally provide data which is harvested by the criminals and is used to commit identity fraud.
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Not sure if it is a recruitment scam or not?
You may not be 100% that you are experiencing a scam and want to investigate further. To check you can do the following things:
Look at how they are communicating - are they using a public email account like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo? If so, this is likely a sign they are not part of the company they represent.
Check the company exists - Go online and find out what you can about the company. Do they have a website? Does it look legitimate? Is the company registered with Securities and Exchange Commission (or if it is abroad in the relevant overseas registry). If not, it is likely a scam.
Contact the company being represented directly - If you can find the company then contact them directly using the contact details on their website. Ask for confirmation that the individual you are working with officially represents the company, that the role exists and confirm the process (particularly around and requested fees).
Check any documents you have been sent for errors or low quality branding - if you have received any documents - like a contract - check it for errors, low quality logos or other inaccurate information.
Take a step back and review the process so far - does the process so far make sense? Would a legitimate company or recruiter ask you to provide the funds or information that are being requested? If it doesn’t feel right, stop and check.
Have you been asked for money? - it is extremely rare that you would be asked to cover fees as part of an employment or application process. If you have been asked for money there is a good chance this is a scam.
Recruitment scams - Do this first!
Don’t give them any more money or information - stop sending any money or personal information immediately - even if you are pressured to do so to meet a deadline.
Report it to law enforcement - It is important that you report the issue to law enforcement ASAP. You may need a report number from the police to help you work with your bank and other organizations. Report it to IC3 and the Federal Trade Commission - whilst the FTC can’t act on individual reports, your report can help others. If the fraud also includes identity theft then you should report this here. For all other types of fraud, find the best place to report in the Department of Justice’s directory here.
Contact your bank - if you have transferred money or shared banking information then contact your bank ASAP and explain what has happened. Check our Money Recovery Guide.
Approaches to dealing with recruitment scams
Report it to the website - contact the company where your CV was hosted or where you saw the job advert. Let them know that scammers are operating on their sites and send them the links to the malicious content. This will help them investigate and remove the content.
Review what you have shared and fix any issues - write a list of everything you have shared with them. Any piece of personal data is important such as name, address, contact details, bank account provider, social security number etc. Have a think about how they could be used maliciously and work to put some protections in place. For example if they have your email address then be very careful of any links or attachments that are sent to you in future. If you have shared any passwords or other security information then change them immediately.
Think about identity theft protection - it is likely that the criminals have a lot of information about you that could be used to commit identity fraud. View our Identity Theft Guide to make sure you have the right protections in place.
Contact your mobile or landline provider - If you have been tricked into calling a high-rate number then contact your phone provider and explain what has happened. They will be able to block the number and may have an appeals process in place.
Beware recovery scams - once you cut off contact with the criminals they may try and contact you again pretending to be the police, your bank or the employer they were representing in order to help you with your issue or recover funds. If so, they will try and scam you again. Do not trust anyone who reaches out to you and offers help unless you have contacted them first using their official contact details.
How to I reduce the chance of being caught up in a recruitment scam?
Minimise the personal data on your resume - information like date of birth, address, photo, national insurance number, passport number, social security number, driving license number or bank details should not be on your resume - especially if you are uploading it to a job search site. These details can be used to target you for identity fraud.
Use well known job search sites or contact employers directly - use legitimate job search sites where possible or contact the employer directly. If someone contacts you or you see an advert on social media be suspicious and make sure it is legitimate.
Don’t pay any fees - do not pay any fees for anything in the recruitment process.
Is the job too good to be true? - If the role is a huge opportunity for a great role or lots more money make sure you take your time to check it is legitimate.
Check with local embassies - if the role is abroad then check with local embassies the price and process for visas and travel. Compare this with what you are being told by the employer.
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