Quad City Job Seekers Could Be Targeted By Scammers

We all know scammers are the lowest of the low, but they really are just pathetic. It looks like scammers are once again targeting people looking for jobs. Wow how classy, nothing like attacking a hardworking American who wants to provide for themselves and their family.

Multiple places in the Quad Cities are still looking to hire people. Kids, young adults, and countless QC residents are on the hunt for jobs. Scammers are trying to find a way to take advantage of this.

The Scam

It appears that scammers are advertising jobs the same way legitimate employers do, so you may see online ads from job sites, college employment sites, and other social media ads. Other spots include newspapers, and sometimes on TV. They promise work but just want to steal from you.

The FBI Is Aware of this

About a year ago the FBI has put out an official statement warning about scammers posing as employers to steal identities from job seekers. They stated,

Criminals first spoof a legitimate company’s website by creating a domain name similar in appearance to a legitimate company. Then they post fake job openings on popular job boards that direct applicants to the spoofed sites. Applicants can apply on the spoofed company websites or directly on the job boards. Applicants are contacted by email to conduct an interview using a teleconference application. According to victims, cyber criminals impersonate personnel from different departments, including recruiters, talent acquisition, human resources, and department managers.

 

Things to look for

The FBI also released some indicators to see if the job hiring is a scam,

• Interviews are not conducted in person or through a secure video call.
• Interviews are conducted via teleconference applications that use email addresses instead of phone numbers.
• Potential employers contact victims through non-company email domains and teleconference applications.
• Potential employers require employees to purchase start-up equipment from the company.
• Potential employers require employees to pay upfront for background investigations or screenings.
• Potential employers request credit card information.
• Potential employers send an employment contract to physically sign asking for PII
  Job postings appear on job boards, but not on the companies’ websites.
  Recruiters or managers do not have profiles on the job board, or the profiles do not seem to fit their roles.

Staying Protected

They also gave information on how to protect yourself,

• Conduct a web search of the hiring company using the company name only. Results that return multiple websites for the same company (abccompany.com and abccompanyllc.com) may indicate fraudulent job listings.
• Legitimate companies will ask for PII and bank account information for payroll purposes AFTER hiring employees. This information is safer to give in person. If in-person contact is not possible, a video call with the potential employer can confirm identity, especially if the company has a directory against which to compare employee photos.
• Never send money to someone you meet online, especially by wire transfer.

Thankfully this scam isn't as big as it was, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening, or that we still shouldn't keep an eye out for these disgusting scammers all over the Quad Cities, and America.