Just
when
they
need
financial
security
the
most,
job
seekers
face
another
challenge—getting
ripped
off
by
job
scams.
Scammers
will
capitalize
on
any
opportunity
to
fleece
a
victim,
like
the
holidays
with
ecommerce
scams
and
tax
time
with
IRS
scams.
Now,
with
surging
employment
figures,
scammers
have
turned
to
job
scams
that
harvest
money
and
personal
information
from
job
seekers.
In
some
ways,
the
tactics
bear
resemblance
to
online
dating
and
romance
scammers
who
hide
behind
a
phony
profile
and
tell
their
victims
a
story
they
want
to
hear,
namely
that
someone
loves
them.
With
job
scams,
they
take
on
the
persona
of
a
recruiter
and
lure
their
victims
with
what
seems
like
an
outstanding
job
offer.
Of
course,
there’s
no
job.
It’s
a
scam.
These
attacks
have
gained
a
degree
of
sophistication
that
they
once
lacked.
Years
prior,
scammers
relied
on
spammy
emails
and
texts
to
share
their
bogus
job
offers.
Now,
they’re
using
phony
profiles
on
social
media
platforms
to
target
victims.
Social
media
platforms
have
several
mechanisms
in
place
to
identity
and
delete
the
phony
profiles
that
scammers
use
for
these
attacks.
Of
note,
LinkedIn’s
latest
community
report
cited
the
removal
of
more
than
21
million
fake
accounts
in
the
first
half
of
2022:
-
Stopped
at
registration
–
16.4
million
accounts. -
Restricted
proactively
before
members
reported
–
5.4
million
accounts. -
Restricted
after
members
reported
–
190
thousand
accounts.
Likewise,
Facebook
took
action
on
1.5
billion
fake
accounts
in
Q3
of
2022
alone,
with
more
than
99%
of
them
acted
on
before
users
reported
them.
Still,
some
scammers
make
their
way
through.
Job
scams
continue
to
rise.
Here’s
what
to
look
out
for.
As
Steve
Grobman,
our
senior
vice
president
and
chief
technology
officer,
was
quoted
in
an
article
for
CNET,
the
continued
shift
to
remote
work,
along
with
remote
hiring,
has
also
made
it
easier
for
online
job
scams
to
flourish.
And
the
figures
bear
that
out.
In
2021,
the
FTC
called
out
$209
million
in
reported
losses
due
to
job
scams.
In
just
the
first
three
quarters
of
2022,
reported
job
scam
losses
had
already
reached
$250
million.
While
year-end
figures
have
yet
to
be
posted,
the
final
tally
for
2022
could
end
up
well
over
$300
million,
a
50%
uptick.
And
the
median
loss
per
victim?
Right
around
$2,000
each.
While
the
promise
of
work
or
a
job
offer
make
these
scams
unique,
the
scammers
behind
them
want
the
same
old
things—your
money,
along
with
your
personal
information
so
that
they
can
use
it
to
cause
yet
more
harm.
The
moment
any
so-called
job
offer
asks
for
any
of
those,
a
red
flag
should
immediately
go
up.
It’s
possibly
a
scam
if:
They
ask
for
your
Social
Security
or
tax
ID
number.
In
the
hands
of
a
scammer,
your
SSN
or
tax
ID
is
the
master
key
to
your
identity.
With
it,
they
can
open
up
bank
cards,
lines
of
credit,
apply
for
insurance
benefits,
collect
benefits
and
tax
returns,
or
even
commit
crimes,
all
in
your
name.
Needless
to
say,
scammers
will
ask
for
it,
perhaps
under
the
guise
of
background
check
or
for
payroll
purposes.
The
only
time
you
should
provide
your
SSN
or
tax
ID
is
when
you
know
that
you
have
accepted
a
legitimate
job
with
a
legitimate
company,
and
through
a
secure
document
signing
service,
never
via
email,
text,
or
over
the
phone.
They
want
your
banking
information.
Another
trick
scammers
rely
on
is
asking
for
bank
account
information
so
that
they
can
wire
payment
to
you.
As
with
the
SSN
above,
closely
guard
this
information
and
treat
it
in
exactly
the
same
way.
Don’t
give
it
out
unless
you
actually
have
a
legitimate
job
with
a
legitimate
company.
They
want
you
to
pay
before
you
get
paid.
Some
scammers
will
take
a
different
route.
They’ll
promise
employment,
but
first
you’ll
need
to
pay
them
for
training,
onboarding,
or
equipment
before
you
can
start
work.
Legitimate
companies
won’t
make
these
kinds
of
requests.
Other
signs
of
a
job
scam—more
red
flags
to
look
for.
Aside
from
the
types
of
information
they
ask
for,
the
way
they
ask
for
your
information
offers
other
clues
that
you
might
be
mixed
up
in
a
scam.
Look
out
for
the
following
as
well:
1)
The
offer
is
big
on
promises
but
short
on
details.
You
can
sniff
out
many
online
scams
with
the
“too
good
to
be
true”
test.
Scammers
often
make
big
promises
during
the
holidays
with
low-priced
offers
for
hard-to-get
holiday
gifts
and
then
simply
don’t
deliver.
It’s
the
same
with
job
scams.
The
high
pay,
the
low
hours,
and
even
the
offer
of
things
like
a
laptop
and
other
perks,
these
are
signs
that
a
job
offer
might
be
a
scam.
Moreover,
when
pressed
for
details
about
this
seemingly
fantastic
job
opportunity,
scammers
may
balk.
Or
they
may
come
back
with
incomplete
or
inconsistent
replies
because
the
job
doesn’t
exist
at
all.
2)
They
communicate
only
through
email
or
chat.
Job
scammers
hide
behind
their
screens.
They
use
the
anonymity
of
the
internet
to
their
advantage.
Job
scammers
likewise
create
phony
profiles
on
networking
and
social
media
websites,
which
means
they
won’t
agree
to
a
video
chat
or
call,
which
are
commonly
used
in
legitimate
recruiting
today.
If
your
job
offer
doesn’t
involve
some
sort
of
face-to-face
communication,
that’s
an
indication
it
may
be
a
scam.
3)
And
the
communications
seem
a
little
…
off.
Scammers
now
have
an
additional
tool
reel
in
their
victims—AI
chatbots
like
Chat
GPT,
which
can
generate
email
correspondence,
chats,
LinkedIn
profiles,
and
other
content
in
seconds
so
they
can
bilk
victims
on
a
huge
scale.
However,
AI
has
its
limits.
Right
now,
it
tends
to
use
shorter
sentences
in
a
way
that
seems
like
it’s
simply
spitting
out
information.
There’s
little
story
or
substance
to
the
content
it
creates.
That
may
be
a
sign
of
a
scam.
Likewise,
even
without
AI,
you
may
spot
a
recruiter
using
technical
or
job-related
terms
in
an
unusual
ways,
as
if
they’re
unfamiliar
with
the
work
they’re
hiring
for.
That’s
another
potential
sign.
4)
Things
move
too
quickly.
Scammers
love
a
quick
conversion.
Yet
job
seekers
today
know
that
interview
processes
are
typically
long
and
involved,
often
relying
on
several
rounds
of
interviews
and
loops.
If
a
job
offer
comes
along
without
the
usual
rigor
and
the
recruiter
is
asking
for
personal
information
practically
right
away,
that’s
another
near-certain
sign
of
a
scam.
5)
You
get
a
job
offers
on
Facebook
or
other
social
media
sites
not
associated
with
job
searches.
This
is
another
red
flag.
Legitimate
businesses
stick
to
platforms
associated
with
networking
for
business
purposes,
typically
not
networking
for
families,
friends,
and
interests.
Why
do
scammers
use
sites
like
Facebook
anyway?
They’re
a
gold
mine
of
information.
By
trolling
public
profiles,
they
have
access
to
years
of
posts
and
armloads
of
personal
information
on
thousands
of
people,
which
they
can
use
to
target
their
attacks.
This
is
another
good
reason
to
set
your
social
media
profiles
on
platforms
like
Facebook,
Instagram,
and
other
friend-oriented
sites
to
private
so
that
scammers
of
all
kinds,
not
just
job
scammers,
can’t
use
your
information
against
you.
Further
ways
you
can
protect
yourself
from
job
scams.
As
a
job
hunter
you
know,
getting
the
right
job
requires
some
research.
You
look
up
the
company,
dig
into
their
history—the
work
they
do,
how
long
they’ve
been
at
it,
where
their
locations
are,
and
maybe
even
read
some
reviews
provided
by
current
or
former
employees.
When
it
comes
to
job
offers
that
come
out
of
the
blue,
it
calls
for
taking
that
research
a
step
further.
After
all,
is
that
business
really
a
business,
or
is
it
really
a
scam?
In
the
U.S.,
you
have
several
resources
that
can
help
you
answer
that
question.
The
Better
Business
Bureau
(BBB)
offers
a
searchable
listing
of
businesses
in
the
U.S.,
along
with
a
brief
profile,
a
rating,
and
even
a
list
of
complaints
(and
company
responses)
waged
against
them.
Spending
some
time
here
can
quickly
shed
light
on
the
legitimacy
of
a
company.
Also
in
the
U.S.,
you
can
visit
the
website
of
your
state’s
Secretary
of
State
and
search
for
the
business
in
question,
where
you
can
find
when
it
was
founded,
if
it’s
still
active,
or
if
it
exists
at
all.
For
businesses
based
in
a
state
other
than
your
own,
you
can
visit
that
state’s
Secretary
of
State
website
for
information.
For
a
state-by-state
list
of
Secretaries
of
State,
you
can
visit
the
Secretary
of
State
Corporate
Search
page
here.
For
a
listing
of
businesses
with
international
locations,
organizations
like
S&P
Global
Ratings
and
the
Dun
and
Bradstreet
Corporation
can
provide
background
information,
which
may
require
signing
up
for
an
account.
Lastly,
protect
yourself
and
your
devices.
Given
the
way
rely
so
heavily
on
the
internet
to
get
things
done
and
simply
enjoy
our
day,
comprehensive
online
protection
software
that
looks
out
for
your
identity,
privacy,
and
devices
is
a
must.
Specific
to
job
scams,
it
can
help
you
in
several
ways,
these
being
just
a
few:
-
Scammers
still
use
links
to
malicious
sites
to
trick
people
into
providing
their
personal
information.
Web
protection,
included
in
our
plans,
can
steer
you
clear
of
those
links. -
Moreover,
scammers
gather
your
contact
information
and
other
details
so
they
can
target
you
through
data
broker
sites,
fueled
by
thousands
of
data
points
on
billions
of
people.
McAfee’s
Personal
Data
Cleanup
scans
some
of
the
riskiest
data
broker
sites,
shows
you
which
ones
are
selling
your
personal
info,
and,
depending
on
your
plan,
can
help
you
remove
it. -
Scammers
may
use
any
of
your
personal
info
that’s
already
out
there
on
the
dark
web.
McAfee’s
Identity
Monitoring
scans
the
dark
web
for
your
personal
info,
including
email,
government
IDs,
credit
card
and
bank
account
info,
and
more.
It
helps
keep
your
personal
info
safe,
with
early
alerts
if
your
data
is
found
on
the
dark
web,
an
average
of
10
months
ahead
of
similar
services.
You
have
what
it
takes
to
avoid
job
search
scams.
Job
searches
are
loaded
with
emotion—excitement
and
hopefulness,
sometimes
urgency
and
frustration
as
well.
Scammers
will
always
lean
into
these
emotions
and
hope
to
catch
you
off
your
guard.
If
there’s
a
common
thread
across
all
kinds
of
online
scams,
that’s
it.
Emotion.
A
combination
of
a
cool
head
and
some
precautionary
measures
that
protect
you
and
your
devices
can
make
for
a
much
safer
job-hunting
experience,
and
a
safer,
more
private
life
online
too.
Editor’s
Note:
Job
scams
are
a
crime.
If
you
think
that
you
or
someone
you
know
has
fallen
victim
to
one,
report
it
to
your
authorities
and
appropriate
government
agencies.
In
the
case
of
identity
theft
or
loss
of
personal
information,
our
knowledge
base
article
on
identity
theft
offers
suggestions
for
the
specific
steps
you
can
take
in
specific
countries,
along
with
helpful
links
for
local
authorities
that
you
can
turn
to
for
reporting
and
assistance.
About Author
