Job Scams in Canada

Has anyone else been getting a lot of scam “job offers” or “job postings” recently? In the past week, my coworkers and I have been comparing notes on the flood that has been coming to our phones, Instagram-targeted ads, and personal emails.

Whenever I bring up this topic, I am always interested to hear people’s stories about online scams.

I was in high school, and my friend told me that his mom had gotten into some trouble with a scam the night before, and their whole family was quite shaken up about it.

Unknown to him, over the past few weeks, a person had been calling his mom and harassing her, claiming to be the government of Canada. They claimed that she had filed her taxes wrong the previous year and that if she didn’t comply with their requests, they would send the RCMP to her door to prosecute her.

They were calling from the CRA phone number, one that matched the website. They had information about her, such as her address, phone number, and the bank she baked at. There had also been some changes in the family’s financial situation over the last year, and taxes were much more complicated.

Although the person on the phone had started out polite and had claimed to want to help her out, the phone calls escalated. She was scared. She didn’t wait to tell anyone because they claimed her family was in danger if she told them.

As someone who grew up in Canada with Canadian parents and is fluent in English, I am consistently SHOCKED at how complicated things are here. Our tax system and even the website for the Government of Canada are hard for me to navigate. And it is all I’ve ever known.

All this to say. It is no wonder that people breaking into the job market in Canada for the first time, or even people who have been around for a while, get taken advantage of.

It is not because they are stupid. My friend’s mom was incredibly smart, with multiple degrees. It’s not because they aren’t careful. The scammers are constantly evolving.

It is because, generally, scammers are smart. They are driven. They are creative. They work in teams. They have limited moral compasses. And they prey on people who are unfamiliar with the employment ecosystem here in Canada.

So, what is a Job Scam?

A Job Scam is any job offer or opportunity that is fake or deceptive. They are often used to try to get money or free services from job-seeking professionals.

One of my favourite media portrayals of this is in “I’m the real Connor”, a podcast episode about an engineer who received an email saying his identity was stolen, and is now being used to interview for jobs that he never applied to. Highly recommend you check it out; the height of action is when Connor joins an interview call that the scammer is on, interviewing and pretending to be him!

Here are some red flags to look out for

1. You never applied. If you are getting a job offer that you have yet to apply to, it’s fake

2. You didn’t have to interview. Most companies have a multi-stage interview process.

3. The pay is too good to be true, or has a wide range (eg $5000 - $500,000 annual salary), and yet it is unclear what you’d be doing in the position.

4. Your research of the company comes up empty. Legit companies will have LinkedIn, a solid website, and other things come up when you search them online

5. The company only communicates via WhatsApp or another anonymized messaging app. In Canada, WhatsApp is not used to issue job offers, and is generally regarded as quite a sketchy platform

6. You have to pay ANYTHING. A legitimate company will not ask you to buy supplies on your credit card and reimburse you later or ask you to pay a deposit on health insurance, etc., before you have started the job and verified its legitimacy

7. They ask you to pay them back for anything. They “overpay” you “by accident”, and require you to send them back the amount they went over. Your paycheque was supposed to be for $450, but they sent you $4500 and are now demanding you pay it back. Please do not touch that money; it is a common scam. Notify your bank immediately.

8. Poorly written correspondences, messages, job descriptions, or websites. These are immediate red flags because a professional company would not let this happen. It is sometimes thought that the misspellings are on purpose so that the fraudster can weed out anyone who is less likely to be susceptible to a scam.

9. Asking for an interview via messaging service. Professional companies will generally conduct interviews on Zoom, Teams, or G-Suite services.

10. The job posting mentions quick money, drastic income changes overnight, etc.

11. You get an immediate Job Offer. Again, the hiring process takes time. If you get a job offer within a day or a week of getting in contact with this opportunity, I’d stay vigilant for other signs

12. You immediately get asked for personal information such as your SIN, address, bank account info, or numbers/photos of your driver’s licence or passport. Generally, this info will be processed at a later stage of the process. A legitimate company will understand if you push back on giving your info and will accommodate your needs for privacy and security. If a company you are talking to gets pushy or mean and demands information, immediately disengage.

13. The schedule/requirements seem too flexible. If the job says, “work only 2 hours a day and make $5000 a week, entirely hybrid... It’s too good to be true. Block/report the listing.

14. The contact email address is personal (e.g., [email protected]) or one that mimics a real company’s email address (e.g., [email protected]) but does not match the company website.

Avoiding Scams

The best way to help yourself avoid job scams is by doing research. If you see a job posting or receive a call that intrigues you, research the company. Look for:

• A professional company website
• Professional profiles (LinkedIn) of any recruiters with whom you’ve spoken
• Active and professional social media presence (Twitter, LinkedIn, News Articles)
• Company reputation reviews on sites like Glassdoor or Indeed

You can also search up “Common Job Scams”, to see if the line of behaviour you are receiving follows a script. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre keeps a list of known scams updated on its website, and it’s a great resource to learn more.

As for my friend’s mom, when she told him about her interactions with the CRA, he recognized the signs that something was not right with the situation, and he helped her block their number and report the incident.

Finally, as with most situations in life, one of the single best ways to avoid a job scam is to listen to your instincts. If something sounds too good to be true, look into it further. Ask a friend to help you to look more into the company, or ask them if it sounds sketchy, too.

Have you or anyone in your life encountered a job scam? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!