Job scams are on the rise in the United States, cheating individuals of hundreds or thousands of dollars and stealing identities. Don’t simply trust that whatever is posted is a legitimate posting, even if it is listed on a legitimate website – do your research! Here are some things to check when evaluating if a job posting is legitimate:
Requests for money/personal information – Scammers often ask you to pay a fee upfront to hold the posting, for certification, or for some other reason. A legitimate company should not ask you to pay to get a job with them. Likewise, a prospective employer should not be asking for your bank account, Paypal, or credit card information. Arrangements for direct deposit or for a paycheck should be done your first day of starting work on-site. Do not agree to forward payments to a company or to deposit money in your own account – generally these are fake checks, and you will be liable. While an employer may ask you for your social security number or date of birth during application (the former of which is legal in most states, but considered bad practice), this information should not be solicited through email or by phone.
Email address – Check the domain name in particular; it should match the domain name of the company. A recruiter from IBM will have an email from @ibm.com. Scammers tend to put in extra characters, missing letters, or adding extra extensions. For example: @ibmcompany.com, @iibm.com, or @email.ibm.com. A genuine recruiter should not be asking you to email a Gmail or Yahoo account; they will have their own account given to them from the company. NOTE: Even if it seems correct, however, you may still want to call the company directly to verify.
Physical address – Look up the physical address on Google. A legitimate address should lead you to some form of connection to the company, such as a company webpage. You can even go a step farther and look up the address on Google Earth to see exactly what is at that location.
Phone number – Does the area code from the listed phone number match up with the company’s location, or is it from another area (or state)? You can even perform a reverse look up on the number, checking if it leads back to the company.
Google the company – Do not simply follow a link back to the company if you are given one; occasionally scammers set up false websites. Type the company name into Google and see if you can find it on your own. Look through the company’s website. Does it look as though someone threw it together, or is it a solid website?
Search for the recruiter – Look for the recruiter’s name (if given) on LinkedIn, Google, or Twitter. If they are from a large company, they will likely have some kind of online presence. Look at the profiles – do they have just a couple of followers, or a large following? What do they post about themselves? Do other people post back to them?
Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation – Legitimate companies know that they are putting themselves out there and take the time to make sure that the posting is at its best. Read through the posting – does it sound as though it was written by someone who is a native speaker of the language in which the site is written? Is it full of spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors?
Search for company reviews – While not all companies are members of the Better Business Bureau or have reviews on a site like Glassdoor.com, it’s worthwhile to look, and it will tell you something about the company. You can also look to see if they are listed with a Chamber of Commerce (www.uschamber.com) or with Hoover’s, a listing of businesses (www.hoovers.com).
Offering a high wage for minimum skills – Beware of promises for high salary for doing very little work. Common examples include stuffing envelopes, re-mailing packages, or minor data entry.
Always try to verify the legitimacy of the posting as best you can – including by calling the company directly. (Use the number for the company that you find through research, not the one that may be given to you in the posting.) Ultimately do pay attention to your gut: Does a posting look too good to be true? Do you feel concerned or edgy about it? If you have doubts, it may be best not to apply to that job and move on to another.