Imagine hunting for a job for months, and at long last, you get an unprompted message from a recruiter. They offer a work-from-home position on the spot, making thousands of dollars a day. All you have to do is fill out a form with your personal information or in some cases, pay for a starter business kit.
Sounds too good to be true? It is.
Offers like this are usually employment scams. They may not always look like this, but job scams in general aim to coerce you into spending money you’ll never get back or trick you into giving up personal identifiable information for the purpose of stealing your identity.
Telling them apart from legitimate job offers can be tricky. Here’s how to tell if a job offer is legitimate or just after your cash.
Read more: Employment Identity Theft Happens More Often Than You Think
How job scams work
Job scams can take on many different forms depending on the end goal, and practically anyone can be a target. Criminals impersonate a recruiter, business owner or hiring manager to advertise fake jobs or opportunities for nefarious purposes. In some cases, fraudsters will set up bots to target people who have posted on LinkedIn about being laid off or being “OpenToWork.”
More than 110,000 scams related to business and job opportunities were reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2023, according to a February 2024 report, with losses reaching $491 million.
Individuals may get seemingly non-targeted text messages about available jobs. These texts are easy to ignore for those who haven’t been on the job hunt, but individuals currently looking for a job could easily assume the texts are related to their search.
These are examples of unprompted text messages I’ve received in the last few months.
I replied to the first message (on the left) to see what they would say, knowing it was a scam. The person responded by setting up an interview via WhatsApp, but I never showed.
The FTC warns that some fake job scams promise work-from-home opportunities where you can make thousands of dollars on their own time. But these scams only exist to lure desperate people into purchasing expensive “starter kits” for what they believe to be their new business venture.
Reshipping opportunities are yet another popular job scam. This involves the victim agreeing to receive packages at their home that they in turn repackage and ship to another address. The products themselves, often electronics, were likely purchased with stolen credit cards, and before you know it, you’ve found yourself involved in the middle of a larger scam. The check you’re promised for helping ship products also never comes.
For more examples of recent scams, you can check the Better Business Bureau scam tracker. Type “job” or “employment” in the search bar to bring up thousands of different employment scam complaints, including details on how they worked and the amount of money lost.
How to avoid employment scams online
Employment scams can be hard to pin down or notice, particularly if you’re searching for work and want to believe any bites from an employer are legitimate. But there are some telltale signs that should set off alarms in your mind.
These steps can help you spot fake work opportunities brought to you by scammers:
- They reach out via text. Unless you know the recruiter, this is suspicious activity.
- The recruiter requires money up front. No legitimate company will require you to pay to work. If a job asks you to pay a fee or send them money for equipment, it’s a scam, even if they say you’ll be reimbursed.
- The compensation is too good to be true. You have an idea of what a job should pay. If the salary is far beyond your own expectations, that’s a red flag.
- The interview is conducted over a messaging service. Many job interviews are done remotely. But they are normally conducted via phone or video conferencing software, such as Zoom or Google Meet.
- You get an immediate offer. Landing a job should take some time because multiple interviews are often required. Hiring companies will also speak with and vet multiple candidates.
If you’re still unsure, the FTC recommends researching companies offering you a job to make sure they’re legitimate. Also, search for the company name followed by words like “scam” or “review” to see what pops up.
If you want to confirm a job opportunity or offer with a legitimate company, cut out the recruiter and reach out to them directly.
Can job scams lead to ID theft?
Some employment scams exist to steal money from victims, but others may not stop there.
Over the job application process, victims might share information that’s standard to provide to a new employer, such as their name, birth date, home address and Social Security number. This information can be used by identity thieves to open bank accounts, take out loans or credit cards in your name and even file fraudulent tax returns.
As a safety measure, consider freezing your credit with the three major credit bureaus if you fell for a job scam. You should also consider signing up for identity theft protection. These services offer insurance to help pay for necessary expenses if your identity is stolen.
How to report employment scams
If you come across a fake job offer or employment scam, report it so that others don’t fall victim. Here’s how:
If you’re already the victim of an employment scam, you’ll want to take some additional steps to limit damage and protect yourself from identity theft.
For example, if you shared sensitive personal information as part of the scam, you can freeze your credit reports or set up fraud alerts on your credit reports. You can also sign up for identity theft protection and monitoring services, which can alert you if someone tries to open an account or apply for a loan in your name.
If you already sent money to a scammer, the FTC recommends contacting the company behind the payment method you used (e.g. PayPal, Zelle, a credit card, etc.) to report the fraud and asking them to reverse the transaction. It’s unlikely you’ll get your money back in most cases, but you won’t know unless you ask.
