Identifying and Avoiding Really Scary Job Scams

I hope you’ve been enjoying “The Job Scam Report.” I want to improve it and make it more relevant to your needs. I hope you will take three minutes to fill out my survey to give me an idea of how to meet your needs and make you more aware of, avoid, and defend against job scams.

If you have recently experienced a job loss or are beginning a job search, I have a 42-page eGuide to help you get started. The FREE “125 Practical Modern Job Search Tips 2024-25” is available to download!

I visited Dr. Linda Brubaker’s Monthly Lunch and Learn group for an hour of Q&A to answer job scam questions. Please follow Linda on LinkedIn and visit her YouTube channel for insightful job search help and coaching.

When we started, she had many of her members ready with questions and concerns:

Here are the questions asked, along with short summarized answers:

1. What to do after recognizing you've been scammed?

• Report to IC3.gov (FBI),

• If financial transactions were involved, dispute charges with your credit card company.

• You can use a phone service like Google Voice or Youmail to get another number so your real one isn’t exposed.

2. Is it a scam if a recruiter text as a first contact -

• Likely, yes. Legitimate recruiters typically don't use text as an initial contact method.

• Use email or LinkedIn for validation and approach unsolicited texts cautiously.

3. Should you trust social media job opportunities and claims of easy money?

• Be cautious; many of these claims can be scams.

• Legitimate opportunities often require substantial effort and time investment.

4. How to recognize fake URLs and company websites?

• Check for slight URL misspellings and use safe search engines to vet them before clicking.

• Be wary of additional letters or suspicious extensions.

5. How to determine if a company's website is real?

• Vet the URL before visiting. Avoid downloading anything from unknown sites, which can contain spyware or malware.

• Always ensure the URL genuinely matches the company's expected official domain. Use a search engine to double-check its validity.

6. Should you upload your resume to job sites?

• Be cautious about where you upload your resume. Avoid putting personal information like addresses on public sites.

7. Is there a free VPN service recommendation?

Although not free, Nord VPN and IP Vanish are recommended for better security on public Wi-Fi networks.