Some Job scams and how to identify them

Recruitment at its worst is more transactional than your weekly food shop and already leaves the vast majority of candidates bereft of any answers, empathy or hope.

So it should come as no surprise that it's long had a parasitic infection that could rival the very hardiest of tapeworms.

Job scammers.?

Like a shark honing in on one part of blood per million, or me scouting out the pastries at conference delegate breakfasts, job scammers hone in on the hopeful, desperate and unaware.?

So here’s a list that probably isn’t completely exhaustive that will hopefully help you avoid these charlatans.

Fake Jobs

One of the first things you’ll come across is the online honey trap of a fake job listing.?

These will often have salaries higher than your average recreational plant enthusiast or propose work time flexibility that would border on the irresponsible if a business actually adhered to those working times.?

Often you’ll find these listings take you on a merry go ride from hell type carousel to different websites/page refreshes with 1 or 2 options per page, designed to wear you into submission while you slowly impart way too personal or financial details.?

“But Tim, lots of job application process that are legitimate take me onto multiple pages where I have to fill out information I’ve already put on a CV”

Yep, the reason fake jobs are so effective is because a huge number of actual job application processes are so poorly executed they all look like a poor attempt at selling a mirror on Facebook marketplace.?

So scammers have an easier time hiding in plain sight.?

By the time you’ve fought through the process they may even ask you to make some kind of admin fee payment, and this is where the “sunk cost fallacy” hits, and in some cases you may well do it.?

Some giveaways to these include non company domain names, a lack of online/physical presence to the business or a job description that’s as generic as most pop music.?

Unsolicited offers

Scammers, like a cringey single bloke will sometimes take the direct approach, straight into your messages by sending a random “congrats, you got this job you didn’t apply for” (but less well written usually)?

This will often be through some form of social media, but your email junk is probably full of them as well.?

Any job worth having will always have some form of screening as part of their process to bring you into a legitimate business. Offers out the blue are merely an attempt to get details, cash or IT credentials from you.?

Upfront fees

You know who probably doesn’t have money to burn? I reckon pretty much everyone who is looking for a job. (And most people in one to be honest given the small ball of fire we currently call our planet’s economy)

No legitimate business would ever expect people to pay THEM money for the privilege of working for them.?

Scammers may ask you for something like a registration fee, contributions to training costs or to fund your background check.?

This is nothing more than a con, don’t give them your money.?

Legitimate agency recruiters (like me) get paid BY the companies we represent, we don’t take a cut from your salary.?

So save your cash.

Asking for your info

Scammers are information/money hungry little goblins, when you first engage with them they may ask for copies of your passport/photo ID, bank details, and other pieces of personal or financially related information.?

Sharing this information, upfront WITHOUT doing your due diligence is a super high risk leaving you open to all kinds of things like identity theft. So always verify contacts at companies, check against official websites and contact the general recruitment teams if you need to.?

This one is a little more nuanced, because there are, on occasion, legitimate reasons for companies to need your info for salary payments, pension, right to work etc. However this is usually at the end of the recruitment process as you transition into the onboarding stage and actually have been offered the job.?

Fake interviews

Designed to try and give some legitimacy to an absolute farce. Fake interviews will usually be conducted over instant message, where a few basic questions are asked before you’re given the “good news” and asked for a start date.?

BUT WAIT, because they need you so quickly, they may not have time to get your equipment/training in order, so need some of YOUR limited cash to make it happen.?

This, like the detective cases Gotham City’s Jim Gordon doesn’t want, is Bullocks.?

Don't fall for it.

Task scamming

This is usually more common on things like “The TikTok” as my mother likes to put it.?

After finding an advert, you’ll be given some simple tasks to do, in some cases via fake profiles/accounts of actual businesses.?

But you’ll know they’re a scam as they use the tried and tested method of tricking people into paying a smallish fee to access earnings. T

They’ll then ghost you and you don’t get a penny.?

The ghosting is also sadly the part that has the most crossover with the actual recruiting industry. (That's a soapbox speech for another day)

Traffic scams

No this isn’t a case of scammers throwing themselves in front of cars.?

?

It’s a case of making money from your views/engagement on fake job adverts on sites like TikTok.

Scammers will “buy” traffic from the site they are using, say TikTok, and redirect the traffic (that’s you) to a fake job landing page littered with adverts.

Those adverts will then pay the scam website for views/clicks or other engagement via affiliate advertising agreements

And as long as the adverts themselves comply with advertising regs, it’s totally legal.

In some cases they’re not asking for your details.

But let’s be honest, scammers are advantageous little gits, it’ll probably have a fake application form designed to steal anything from you not bolted down.?

In summary

Sadly, there will be a ton of scams that are either brand new, or that even I, a veteran recruiter won’t be privy to! (share em below) But look out for common tactics these criminals like to use including:?

• Pressuring you with ridiculous time constraints
• Seeking out your personal or financial information
• Attempting to get you to make payments or share details of payments
• Dodgy web link redirects or strange attachments.?

Keep your information, passwords and emails secure. Have good anti-virus and keep suspicious.

If something sounds too good to be true, or is making you feel like it’s dodgy, it probably is.

Identify, verify and guard against these potential threats.

And good luck out there, it’s hard enough without the bad guys making it worse.?

Alright, get out of here you lot, consider SMASHING that like and share button if this helped.?

Your pal Tim x