The company name looks legitimate. The ad is formatted nice. It’s posted onto a job search site.

Sometimes it can be hard to spot a job scam. Look for these warning signs so you don’t get caught up in their scheming.

Not Always Easy

Looking for a job is stressful enough. You want to work. You spend hours doing research, editing your resume and you try your best to get that interview. All in a days work.

Then it happens… You get an email. Exciting!!!!

You respond. So far so good.

You get another response. They want you to interview online, not in person. Whatever. This is the computer age right?

You begin the interview. It’s going well but something just doesn’t feel right. What do I do now?!?

Trust Your Gut

If you get a funny feeling, IMMEDIATELY listen to it.

If it turns out to be a for real job, then no harm is done, you can always explain your hesitance to your would be employer. They will probably appreciate having someone that trusts their instincts on their team.

If it ends up being a scam, you will thank your gut later on.

The big question is… How do you know if it really is a scam?

Always be wary of potential jobs. Why not? It’s a different world out there now. You have to be at the ready for scams and fraud everywhere you go.

————-Clues To Look For————-

The email address does not match the company

If a recruiter is for real, the email they send to you will typically have something to do with the company. There probably are small companies that have a Gmail or Hotmail account, but I wouldn’t bet my name and credit on it.

It’s always a good idea to double check just in case. The general rule: Better Safe Than Sorry

You get referred to multiple people to complete the interview.

You may get an email from the recruiter who then refers you to their hiring agent. You may then get referred to another person for whatever reason.

Be extra suspicious if neither email address is associated with the company.

The “interview” is done online

You may get asked to do you interview via one of these sources: Google Hangouts, through email, on messenger.

I have known of Skype as a legitimate way to interview, but you should be cautious if they want to do one without you seeing their faces or hearing their voice.

Some legitimate jobs do conduct phone interviews, I’ve actually done a few of those and they were real jobs, but I would be cautious of those as well.

They want you to purchase something from them

They may call it start up costs or promotional material to do your job. Some call it training. They shouldn’t need your money first for you to get the job.

They immediately ask you for more info.

They should know who you are already.

If they ask for your name and location/address be very wary. If they ask for your social security number to verify your identity, back away from the keyboard.

They offer you a job almost immediately, without completing the interview.

Before any real interviewing is completed, you may get offered the position. I’m not talking about them going over the job functions or elaborating about the company. Those things are normal in an interview, but getting an offer before they even ask questions is abnormal.

The amount they offer is more than you should be making.

It is really simple to search for mean job salary in your area. If an ad offers a pay range above that, in an entry level position, or if the interviewer says you will have a guaranteed amount that seems too good to be true, you’re probably dealing with a fake.

If you were interviewing for an office position, but they want you to work from home until their office is set up.

Scammers want you to be in the dark for a very long time. They may tell you the offices are being built and they are hiring work at home employees until the worksite is open. You might even begin to work for them and realize after the fact that the stuff you are being asked to do seems criminal, like processing credit cards or transferring money for them.

Odds are, the office will never exist.

How To Check For Legitimacy

1) If you are already in the middle of the interview before you get that gut feeling, it isn’t too late to do some digging. Copy a portion of the text exchange from your interviewer and do a quick Google search of it. It may have been reported already.

2) You know how native born language reads. This will apply to wherever you are from. In the US, the use of the letter “s” at the end of singular words, incorrect tenses or “the” in front of nouns are questionable.

Here are some examples:

• Our company will build the offices in multiple locations in your areas.
• We has very interested in your resume.

If the grammar is filled with errors, check it out.

3) Research the company. Check out their website, their contact info, if they have a physical location, what is the business function. You can’t find out too much. Put the word scam into the search.

If you are being offered a job in Seattle selling medical equipment but the company only has physical locations in India and they build airplane parts, it’s probably a scam.

Where To Report A Possible Scam

If you feel like you’ve been involved in a scam you have a few options to report it.

If you found the job on a job board like ZipRecruiter.com or Indeed.com, report it to their fraud department. This way they can take down any listings that are still up so no one else can get scammed.

USA.gov – Here you can find links to reports multiple types of scams.

Consumer.gov – You can report to the FTC here.

FBI.gov

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Have you been a target of scammers?

Let me know below in the comments if there is anything I need to add to this list.