By Joey Ricard - July 20, 2022
The Great Resignation has not been over yet! Yes, the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle that started with the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2021 is still a thing. And of all the things that this ongoing economic trend of employees voluntarily resigning from their jobs have resulted in, recruitment scams are worth mentioning!
Impersonation scams are nothing new! But incidents of scammers impersonating HRs over various social media platforms and giving false hopes of nice jobs have increased since the pandemic. And as the rate of workers quitting their jobs and looking for new ones has increased, the scammers have spotted this high rate of changing jobs as an opportunity to take advantage of the job hunters.
With advanced technology and access to social media being at our fingertips, HR impersonation scams are everywhere. Here in this article today, let’s know all about what employment scams are and what are the signs to detect one!
Impersonation scams have been around forever! But, the novelty of the growing human resource fraud scams in recent times is that, unlike the previous scams over the traditional mediums of communication, these are happening over the modern means of communication platforms such as social media or one-to-one messaging.
In these job scams, scammers impersonate real HR employees and give fake or fictitious job offers to potential candidates over social platforms to make the targets share confidential information.
And trust me, these employment scams, where scammers prey upon job seekers, are getting more prevalent now than ever. Even big companies like Google, Amazon, and Shopify are being targeted. No mercy, you see!
While some scammers are using the branding of these giant companies on fake social media profiles to make their conversations with job seekers more legitimate, some have gone even further. They have started conducting interviews online and even offered jobs on behalf of reputed companies to gain access to personal information like social insurance numbers, bank details, addresses, etc. Some scammers have even succeeded in extracting money from the victims.
For a job seeker, it is hard not to get excited when a recruiter reaches him with his dream job offer. But instead of letting the excitement take control of your mind and rationality, you must treat the recruiter connecting with you via 1:1 messaging just like you do the unknowns.
The Covid pandemic-induced layoffs of employees have led to a consistent increase in job vacancies over the last few years, creating a breeding ground for scammers to exploit individuals looking for a job.
So, it is high time you learn about the warning signs to avoid falling prey to recruitment job scams on Facebook and other social media platforms.
A legitimate recruiter will have a well-established profile on LinkedIn, with a profile picture, old and recent activities, etc. Be vigilant and doubtful of recruiters who have recently created profiles and have hardly any activities. To avoid falling for such recruitment scams, job seekers need to do their research about the company and also the recruiters.
Remember, recruitment scammers are never too active on social media. So make sure to check the legitimacy of their profile before connecting or sharing details to save yourself from job scams on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
Legitimate recruiters do not have issues providing the job seeker with adequate information on the job role. But, that is not the case when these are HR scams! To be sure that the job role you are applying for is legitimate, ask the recruiter for the link to the job post on the job board of their company.
A fake recruiter tends to be evasive when asked about the job role in detail. If the recruiter fails to provide you with this link, be cautious!
Legitimate recruiters keep their interactions on social media limited and continue further communication through corporate email addresses. Therefore, be skeptical of the recruiters who communicate with you via personal email addresses. Always check for the domains like Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc., before proceeding further.
The place of the interview can also be a warning sign to be alert and keep yourself safe from recruitment scammers. Recruiters asking to interview on encrypted platforms like Telegram or Skype are usually never legitimate.
Well, it is the end-to-end encrypted platform through which most recruitment scams get carried out. On encrypted platforms, recruitment scams are performed without a single trace, making investigation and prosecution of the scammers challenging.
No legitimate recruiters will ask you to share personal information like Social Insurance numbers, bank details, credit card details, etc., during the recruitment process. And even if they ask you, know that you are in contact with recruitment scammers. Under no circumstances share your personal information with recruiters.
Apart from these, a few more common signs suggest potential employment scams, such as:
In a time like today, where social media has become a part of our everyday life, it is not at all unnatural for recruiters to get in touch with candidates via social media platforms like LinkedIn with job offers. And this is all the more reason why job hunters need to be extra cautious getting in touch with any recruiter on social media!
And this being said, like with any online scam, know that pausing for a moment, thinking about what you are doing, and following your gut instinct can go a long way. No matter how realistic or vast these job scams on online portals may seem, always trust your instincts and consider the signs of recruitment scams.
If, even for a moment, you doubt trusting the recruiter, do not trust. If you feel uncomfortable about the recruitment process, consider that feeling seriously. Do not brush off that “something seems fishy” feeling sparking in your mind or if you suspect a scam at play. For more interesting reads on trending topics and technologies, do not forget to check out our BLOG section.
Joey Ricard
Klizo Solutions was founded by Joseph Ricard, a serial entrepreneur from America who has spent over ten years working in India, developing innovative tech solutions, building good teams, and admirable processes. And today, he has a team of over 50 super-talented people with him and various high-level technologies developed in multiple frameworks to his credit.
