The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an advisory warning of job scams that impersonate well-known companies with tempting employment opportunities.
The scammers are trying to steal users’ personal and financial information in order to steal their money or launch further attacks.
“Scammy recruiters who claim to be recruiting for a big-name employer often reach out by email or text with a remote job offer — sometimes from a personal phone number or email account,” the FTC says.
“You might get an email with an official-looking invitation for a virtual interview along with information about your job duties and job benefits.”
If you respond to a phony job offer, the scammers will attempt to rush through the process to prevent you from thinking clearly or asking others for advice.
“Before you even interview, you might get an official-looking job offer along with paperwork that requires your personal financial information (supposedly for direct deposit),” the advisory says. “The recruiter will push for that information before they answer your questions about the job. In reality, there is no job and the ‘recruiter’ is a scammer. Real employers won’t ask for that kind of information before they’ve actually interviewed and hired you.
The FTC offers the following advice to help users recognize these scams:
- “Look at the sender’s email address. Is the email from a business or a personal email? Recruiters will generally email from a corporate email account, not from a personal email like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com.
- They ask for your personal information before you interview. Scammers will ask for your driver’s license, Social Security, or bank account number to fill out ‘employment paperwork.’ Your sensitive information might be the focus of your ‘interview’ and they might ask to get that information before they’ll talk about job duties.
- Check out the recruiter. Search online the name of the recruiter or their company to see what you find about them. Type the name with words like ‘scam’ or ‘complaint.’”
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