The Main Employment Scams in 2024 and How to Avoid Them

[Man]

Got an attractive job offer from a stranger? Be careful - it may be a scam.

Fake jobs have been around for centuries: even Sherlock Holmes himself encountered them in Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Red-Headed League". Real scammers are as sophisticated as literary heroes, so any job offer should be carefully analyzed to avoid losing your money.

The Internet, social media, cryptocurrencies, and now the surge in remote work have armed scammers with new tools. In this article, we will list the most popular fraudulent schemes and signs that will help you avoid being deceived when applying for a job.

Basic Scam Schemes​

Fraudsters often try to mimic legitimate players in the labor market. The offer may come from job search sites (CareerBuilder, Headhunter, etc.), social networks (LinkedIn), or e-mail. Interviews in Zoom or Teams, filling out questionnaires on the "employer's website", the "first working day" in Slack or Bitrix24 - at first glance, it is convincing and does not differ from honest work. Sometimes you are even "hired" by large brands! But sooner or later, you will be required to do more than just work time and work experience.

Paid trainings​

If the job involves using some specific applications or work tools, you may be required to complete mandatory training before starting the job, sending a link to the training course. And to complete it, you will need to pay for the training. The “employer” may even promise to compensate this money with your first salary, but in reality, after completing the “training,” your relationship will end. To be convincing, the “training platform” may appear independent and not associated with a specific employer, but all of this is part of the same scheme. The need to invest your own money in training is a giant “red flag”: an honest employer warns about critical skills and supporting certificates BEFORE hiring and simply does not hire you if the necessary certificate is not available.

Certifications and preparation for them​

A variation of the previous scheme is a fraudulent intermediary for employment in a real, honest job. If the job requires a specific certification or mandatory entrance testing, the fraudster guarantees employment in a specific vacancy after completing his "training courses." You pay for training, perhaps even acquire real knowledge, but you do not receive any help in finding a job and no guarantees after that. This scheme is especially popular in the United States for employment in government agencies.

Assistance in employment​

Another popular scheme is to create a plausible-looking recruiting agency that finds people who are really looking for a job and promises to find them an ideal employer in a short time, taking a fixed amount of money for it. Sometimes they come with a specific attractive vacancy and ask for money for literally one small thing - to name you the company-employer. There is no point in even delving into the details of the offer: the specifics of the recruiting market are such that the employer always pays for the search, not the employee. If the "recruiter" asks for money from the applicant, it is most likely a scam.

Purchase of tools, consumables, etc.​

You are told that you are hired. But in order to do the job, you need a specific tool, a machine, or just a separate office laptop. You must buy it on a certain website, and the money will be compensated in your first salary. Of course, if you fall for this bait, you will not receive either a laptop or a salary.

A more sophisticated scheme is also possible. Recently, a story about a marketing specialist went viral on LinkedIn about how, after a convincing-looking job placement with recruiters, online interviews, an online meeting with an HR specialist, and even access to a paid training course at his new job, he was tasked with conducting a marketing study of the cryptocurrency market, which first required buying bitcoins at a certain online exchanger. When he became suspicious, he was offered to take a break and choose a work laptop in the meantime. When he saw a document for paying for the laptop with his own money, the author was finally convinced that he was dealing with scammers.

Shipment of goods​

You may also be offered a simple work-from-home job involving receiving goods, checking them, and then sending them by mail. This often requires removing part of the packaging and various accompanying documents. In this scheme, victims are used as cogs in another fraud - the resale of illegally purchased goods paid for, for example, with stolen credit cards. At the end of the month, the worker does not receive any payment, and the parcels also stop arriving. In the future, the police may appear on his doorstep, because the delivery address is one of the main threads in the investigation of fraudulent purchases.

Resale of goods​

Perhaps you are not offered a job, but participation in a small business! You will buy expensive electronics or fashionable things for half the price and then you will be able to sell them for full price. Here everything is even simpler - after the first purchase (of course, with prepayment) you will either get nothing, or get very cheap and bad fakes.

Regular phishing​

Sometimes, "hiring" is simply a way to trick you into giving up your personal data, which can then be used in other fraudulent schemes. Here, after an interview, you are told that you have been hired and sent a typical employment application form. It requires detailed personal information, including your home address, contact information, tax and social security numbers (INN, SNILS) and bank details "for salary transfer". After sending this form, you will never see or hear from your "employer".

How to spot job scammers​

• Honest employers do not ask for money from employees

This is the basic and most important rule. Whatever the name of the payment - advance payment for equipment, tuition fee, purchase of materials for certification, registration fee, security deposit - the requirement to invest your own money is the main and extremely serious sign that you are being "hired" by scammers.

• Honest employers are quite demanding

If you got a relatively difficult and highly paid job at the first interview, this is a reason to think. Very tight hiring and start-up deadlines are also suspicious. It is no less strange if a good vacancy does not have significant requirements for the applicant's length of service, experience and qualifications.

• Fraudsters can exploit brands

It is possible that a recruiting or consulting company is hiring you to work for a large prestigious company or even for government services. This happens, but it is important to check that the recruiters really cooperate with this company and at least one interview is conducted with the participation of employees of the company itself.

It is worth checking the reputation of the employer and recruiter. You can search online for the combination of "recruiter name" + "scammer" or "employer company" + "recruitment scam" or "recruiting company name" + "review".

It also makes sense to check the job vacancies section on the brand's website - is the job you are being offered there?

• Fraudsters actively use phishing

Our usual anti-phishing tips will help you recognize a situation where some questionnaires or the job posting itself are posted on a fraudulent website that imitates the official website of the brand. Often, fake HR employees correspond from addresses that resemble corporate ones, but are actually posted on phishing domains or free mail like Gmail.

Of course, it is difficult to be on guard all the time and check all the links and addresses, especially when you are already dizzy with the proposed "dream job". Therefore, the task of tracking phishing links should be delegated to a specially designed tool that will warn you in time that you are trying to follow a malicious link and block it.

• How did the employer find out about you?

The answer to this question is also important, because an attractive and unexpected offer received at a time when you are not looking for a job is itself suspicious. If you are really looking for a job and post your resume with contact information on job sites, scammers may knock on your door along with honest employers. Be on your guard.

• Do not disclose personal information in advance

An employment contract is usually signed on the first working day. If you are asked to provide detailed personal information in advance, including bank details, it is better to refuse.

• Consult with someone you trust.

Show the vacancy and correspondence with the recruiter to someone you trust. They may notice something you missed. A second opinion is important even in the slightest doubtful cases.

• Try to double-check your future employer

Perhaps you know someone who already works at the employer company. Ask about the company and the people from it who communicate with you. If your "recruiter" is unknown or the company is not hiring for the vacancy you are offered to interview for, you need to be doubly vigilant.

The last piece of advice is extremely important because scammers are constantly improving their methods. You may come across a convincingly described vacancy on a well-known job search site, conduct three interviews, and still end up in a fraudulent job. Therefore, vigilance, common sense, and verification through personal contacts will most reliably protect you from unpleasant surprises.

Source