I debated posting about this as it’s not exactly on topic with branding, digital, and design inspiration and motivation. However it has come up rampantly in recent weeks in the job search and gig hunting spaces. I felt sort of duty bound to spread the word about this danger as I haven’t run across any articles or posts discussing this disturbing trend.
As an entrepreneur running a small design and branding studio I sometimes pad my income with a bit of freelance, short term, or contract gigs primarily found through LinkedIn though I do use other job boards. Recently I have been accosted by no less than 4 direct job invitations which turned out to be fraudulent phishing scams and 1 which I detected before I applied. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me 4 times…
Top 10 Red Flags to look out for:
1. If someone slides into your emails and invites you for an interview double check it’s actually a company/position you applied for. Save all your application confirmation receipts.
2. Beware of any “interview” that is conducted via text, messaging app, or email. I recently had someone claim they had apraxia and couldn’t speak via phone etc. Not wanting to be ableist I accepted this reasoning readily. DON’T. Ask them if someone else from their team can call. Video is also better than phone. I have had swindlers who are ok with actually getting on the phone with me. Which leads me to 3.
3. Beware of “professional” calls coming from a google number or anything of that ilk. Strangely when I googled it I discovered that google numbers were often used in scams and fraud and unfortunately google is not fielding complaints or reports. You must complain to your local law enforcement agency which sounds like a real nonsense solution.
4. If someone does get on the phone with you, beware of anyone who doesn’t sound eminently professional. Be prepared to ask a few detailed questions and if this flummoxes them, be on the lookout.
5. If the hiring process seems too easy aka they seem to want to hire you based on relatively little information or after 1 quick interview.
6. If the job description doesn’t seem to “match” the company and their services. Let’s say the description mentions you working on teams where the job seems to be a small studio of perhaps 1 or 2 persons or doing hand drawn illustrations on a subject that has little to do with the company and their clients.
7. If the company hiring seems too small. I’ve seen a number of these job listings posted for teeny design studios of 1.
8. If someone is offering to pay you quickly or send you expensive equipment readily.
9. If they try to pay you via check.
10. If anything seems off. Maybe the language of the email feels unprofessional or the interview questions don’t seem to match up with the position at hand. Go with your instincts!
2 Prominent types of scams:
Scenario 1. You are emailed about an interview. The interview takes place via a random messaging app. Shortly after, they offer to hire you and then send you a contract where you are of course advised to to fill out every identifying detail of your life. To top it offer they insist on sending you hardware like a laptop and printer {who sends a printer?} but insist that you will need to in turn send these items to their technical team for software updates.
The rub. You haven’t actually applied for this position. They have found your email possibly from your website or LinkedIn. They are doing a double scam by phishing your identity and also buying expensive goods under your name and having you merrily send them on to the “tech team’.
Scenario 2. You apply to an actual job posting on LinkedIn or other job board and their “hiring department” responds. After some email exchange following some explanation why they cannot speak via video they hire you and either offer to pay you by check or proceed to send a contract that you should definitely not fill out.
The rub. They send a real check and then ask for an image of the deposit slip. Or they send a contract and extract all your sensitive information that way.
So how can you avoid getting scammed?
Find the company online and:
1. Check to see they have posted the job on their own site.
2. Compare the email address configuration on their contact page with the one you ave received.
3. Contact the employer directly through their website or social media. Let them know you are interested in their job posting and ask some questions or particulars. You don’t need to mention being scammed because if the job is legitimate you might burn a bridge there.
What to do if you have been a victim of a phishing scam?
1.Contact your local or national authorities, your bank, your credit cards and change all your passwords.
2. Keep an eye on your credit report
3. Report the fraud to the company that the fraudsters were posing as working for.
4. Report it to the Job Board and flag the ad as well.
The sad thing is these people are preying on people who are looking for work and are sometimes quite vulnerable and willing to believe that they’ve won a contract so easily or are being paid so quickly, by check no less! So knowledge, vigilance and sharing this information with others is an imperative. I hope I’ve helped a few with this post. And please feel free to post any additional tips or things to look out for in the comments below!