How to Spot and Avoid Online Job Scams

With the rise of online job boards, remote jobs, and professional networking sites like LinkedIn, it's becoming easier and easier to conduct your entire job search online.

However, this has also led to a rise in online job scams.

Anyone using online job search websites must be careful to avoid potential scams. There are several common financial scams by con artists posing as legitimate employers or recruiters, and you may become a target of these scams when applying for jobs or posting your resume online.

You may be asked for your financial details to verify your credit score before employment.

You may be asked to send money directly as a starting cost for the job (this is almost always a scam, and you should never pay to start a position).

Or, the con artist may ask you to accept a wire transfer and pass it along to someone else, while keeping a small portion for yourself as a fee. In almost all cases, this money is stolen and you may be unknowingly committing wire fraud.

To help you avoid these types of scams, here are 9 simple rules to follow to stay safe when job searching online.

1. Be Skeptical of Personal Email Addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.)

Con artists and scammers can steal company names and corporate logos to make themselves appear legitimate. So don't let your guard down just because you see a real logo or a recognizable company name in an email signature; always check the actual email address they're using to be sure.

Any legitimate recruiter, HR person, or hiring manager will contact you from a corporate email and never a Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, or other free personal email address.

You can also search the person's name on LinkedIn to see if they're a genuine employee of the company they claim to represent. View their LinkedIn profile and first-degree connections to see if they're connected with other people in the company they claim to work for.

2. Never Pay to Get a Job

Legitimate employers will never ask you to send money to acquire a job. If you're being asked to send money to cover starting costs, fees, an initial investment, inventory, or anything else, it's a very likely a scam and you should walk away.

According to the FTC, one of the top signs of an online job scam is being asked to pay to start the job. This should always be avoided.

3. Never Accept Money or Agree to Transfer Money

Online scammers may ask you to receive money from them, keep a portion for yourself as a fee for your time, and pass the rest along to somebody else (often via wire transfer).

In almost all cases, this money is stolen. You should never agree to help transfer or pass along money for any reason as a job seeker.

As a rule of thumb, never agree to have funds deposited into any of your accounts during the job search process. This is not a normal request.

4. Use Trusted Job Search Websites

Using large, reputable job engines like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor will help ensure you're in contact with legitimate employers because these platforms have their own screening processes as well.

However, you should still keep your guard up and follow the other rules for spotting and avoiding online job scams in this article. Their processes aren't foolproof; they simply provide an extra layer of protection for you and greatly reduce the risk.

5. Do Not Give Personal Bank Account Numbers, PayPal Account Information, or Credit Card Numbers to an Employer

There is never a reason to provide this information, and being asked to do so indicates you're likely facing a scam.

The only time you should be providing any financial information to an employer is if they request a routing number and account number to pay direct deposits. This should only be provided after you've met the employer in-person, though.

Never provide this information on a phone interview or video interview. Always wait until you've at least gone on one face-to-face interview and verified that the employer is legitimate.

If you're applying for remote jobs where you won't be visiting employers face-to-face, hold off on providing direct deposit information until you've signed a job offer. In fact, this is a good rule of thumb to follow for any type of job search. Employers shouldn't need your direct deposit information until you've shown up to your first day of work, so it's a potential "red flag" if they ask midway through the interview process.

6. Review Job Postings Carefully Before Applying

Take time to read each job posting before applying. Look for typos and errors, as well as suspicious terms like, "wire transfer", etc.

Not only will this help you spot potential online job scams, but this is also good job search advice in general; you should always be carefully reviewing the job you're applying for so you can quickly "tailor" your resume to the position to get more interviews, and write a great cover letter to catch the employer's attention.

7. Research the Company on Google and Social Media Before Applying

Whenever you see an unfamiliar company name, it's a good idea to search the company online.

You can type their name into a Google search and view recent news articles as well as their official website.

Also, try to find their company pages the big social channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

By viewing their website, recent news about the company, and their social profiles, you'll be able be able to get a better sense of whether the company is legitimate and has real employees working for them.

8. Avoid Job Postings Mentioning "Previously Undisclosed" Federal Government Jobs

According to the FTC, information about federal jobs is always free and publicly available (they recommend using usajobs.gov), and therefore, you should never pay to get access to federal government job listings, or trust a source that claims to have access to "undisclosed" or "hidden" listings that aren't publicly available.

9. Take Extra Precaution When Applying for Remote Jobs

Remote positions or work-from-home positions are often legitimate, but they do require more due diligence to make sure you're not being conned.

Because you won't be meeting with the company face-to-face, you should spend extra effort verifying that the company has a legitimate online presence. Here are steps you can take to accomplish this:

• View the company website
• View the company social media profiles
• Searching Google and Google News for the company name
• Use LinkedIn to research the person(s) you're in contact with from the company to see if they look legitimate and have other connections from within the company

In addition to the extra research above, make sure to only use reputable remote job search websites when searching online. This is another way to avoid fake work-from-home job listings.

Steps to Take if You Fall Victim to an Online Job Scam

By following the advice above, you'll be able to protect yourself from online job scams and apply confidently online. However, mistakes do happen, and if you find that you've fallen victim to an online job scam, there are steps you should follow to minimize the damage:

1. Close the bank account(s) impacted by the scam. For best protection, consider closing all accounts at the bank that was impacted, and open new accounts with a new bank.
2. If you provided your social security number at any point, order credit reports from all three major credit bureaus every 3 months and monitor them for unusual or unrecognized activity. The three big credit bureaus to order reports from are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
3. Report the company name, contact email, and job posting to the site where the fraudulent job posting was listed so they can remove it and investigate further.
4. If you fell victim to a payment-forwarding scam where you received and/or sent any type of international wire transfer, contact your local Secret Service field agent. The US Secret Service handles complaints regarding international fraud and wire fraud.
5. Contact your local police department and file a report if you were a victim of any type of fraud whatsoever.
6. Close all email accounts used to communicate with the con artist.