5 Job Scam Myths That Will Compromise Your Safety
Guarding your personal information is as important as finding a company where your values and skills match.
Special note: I posted the wrong link to THE NEW 125 PRACTICAL MODERN JOB SEARCH TIPS 2024-25 last Thursday. If you need boost and a head start for your job search, I got you. It’s 42 pages long, a little less than 10,000 words. More importantly it’s FREE! If you use the same email address for your subscription here, you will not be sent a second newsletter. I hope you’ll find it helpful and insightful.
You must consider conducting a safe job search today more effectively and efficiently. If your personal information is compromised, your financial and employment future will be adversely affected. You can do all of the above simultaneously; in fact, you must prioritize safety.
Scams trend up and down like fashion. For instance, the fedora has been around for over 100 years, but it’s frequently been in and out of the fashion spotlight. It’s like “Disco Music” was blown up at Soldier Field in 1979, but came back as “House Music” in 1982. Maybe without the orchestration, and sometimes thoughtful lyrics. We can argue if it’s true later. But I digress.
Many scams are refreshed, not new.
In this journey of chasing job scams and sorting through hundreds of LinkedIn posts and news articles, I have found a few new angles on job scams. Many of them, I found, have come back with new layers and are better disguised than before.
An example of a current wave of job scams is “Whale Phishing,” in which an impersonator acts as a peer to get the victim to give sensitive company information or to obtain information from a peer at another company.
It’s similar to the concerns executives have about employees at their companies. I can see in the next year, companies will spend more money to educate and mandate protocols to minimize breaches of all types.
I feel it’s important to address some of the myths around job scams where some have let their guards down or disengaged their job search. This critical error in judgment makes anyone more vulnerable than the first time. While many double down on preventative measures, others give up on their job search, and others don’t learn from their time as victims.
Here are some myths about job scams:
Scammers are ONLY targeting the desperate and anxious.
Scammers use “social engineering” to cast a wide net to find anyone looking for something better. Even successful entrepreneurs receive offers better than what they have. I know not too many business owners who haven’t received scams regularly. The offers are “too good to be true” and uniquely plausible. The intrigue and pique the interest of the receiver. It’s enough to explore the possibilities, no matter your employment or business owner experience.
How to stay safe: Don’t entertain the possibilities unless you know who sent it to you.
Job scams are easy to spot.
On the contrary, job scams evolve over time, just as technology and the job market change. We hear more when unemployment and uncertainty become prevalent. We see this now with the use of AI, and employers receive more AI-generated resumes than they do authentically written resumes. There is an article coming up in the next couple of weeks to address AI’s role in job scams.
How to stay safe: Take time to read articles on scams. One good place is the BBB Scam Tracker, which has more than 30,000 incidents reported to it as scams. They are working closely with the FBI to identify scammers.
Legitimate companies won’t ask for personal or financial information.
Legitimate companies don’t ask for personal information upfront as a candidate. Once hired, the most critical information, such as your social security number (IRS reporting) and bank account (payroll), is necessary. One common red flag is how personal information is asked for before an interview (sometimes before).
How to stay safe: Many people say this is where “something seems a little off,” but they don’t follow their instincts. It’s best to disconnect and report the crime to ic3.gov. In addition, you must contact the appropriate entities (bank, credit card, etc.) if you have given up your personal information, cash, or both.
Once scammed, you’ll know how not to get scammed again.
Many tech-savvy professionals know how to navigate the Internet, but they are still vulnerable to “social-engineering” tactics (think human hacking) and have been victims more than once. I wrote about the writer who was scammed twice, and neither scam looked the same. While many victims are desperate and anxious, others are curious due to the “desirable” opportunity they seek.
How to stay safe: Research and conduct diligence in every part of your job search to ensure the opportunity is legitimate. If a recruiter approaches you about the job, research the recruiter, contact the company, and confirm the job posting.
Once scammed, there’s nothing more to do.
Once you’re a victim, the work will seem like it’s just starting. Scammers have taken people for money, and for victims seems like the end game. The truth is your personal information is the end game, and impersonate you to do reputable damage in YOUR NAME:
Get bank accounts
Credit cards
Medical care resulting in medical bills
Apply to multiple jobs in the same company
Scam other people
How to stay safe: Start being proactive about protecting your personal information. Change your passwords, freeze your credit and bank accounts and credit reports, and tell your network. The last is hard, but scammers can create social media accounts or hijack current ones to scam others in your name.
It’s hard to take emotion out of the job search, but it’s necessary to take the anxiousness out of it. Employers are starting to react to the hundreds AI generated resumes they are receiving within hours of posting. We don’t know how many are actual job seekers, but have identified these resumes aren’t written by a human hand. This is making the interview process slower, and it’s affecting millions of job seekers. Ideally, job seekers must be more intentional and strategic to succeed.
Networking can be a great equalizer in this job search environment. It’s how many people find better jobs and stay at companies longer. There may come a time when you’ll need to vet the person who is referring you to a job in their company you’ve known for more than five years, too. Pretty scary, isn’t it.
Thank you for this information. I have been scammed once and hacked several times. I do have my Credit reports froze.