Recruitment scams trick folks into freely giving private knowledge or cash by providing faux employment alternatives below the title of a legit firm. Right here’s what to look out for.
HawkSEM disclaimer:
- HawkSEM won’t ever ask you to supply fee to use for a job opening; equally, in case you are requested to buy a laptop computer or another work tools by us or one other firm previous to beginning employment or receiving a paycheck, it’s possible you’ll be coping with a scammer.
- Our staff doesn’t contact candidates through textual content message, WhatsApp, Fb Messenger, WeChat, Telegram, or another social media or messaging platform to arrange an interview.
- HawkSEM doesn’t lengthen job gives with out finishing an intensive interview course of and can by no means ask for delicate private info, akin to your birthday or Social Safety quantity, to use.
- HawkSEM interviews are at all times held through digital convention conferences, and all communication and assembly invites come from an @hawksem.com e mail tackle.
You probably have been contacted by or seen what seems to be a suspicious job itemizing, e mail, or web site utilizing the HawkSEM title, please contact us so we are able to report the problem and hold others from falling sufferer to recruitment scams.
With an elevated curiosity in distant employment, recruitment scams are at an all-time excessive.
The truth is, the Higher Enterprise Bureau (BBB) reports that within the first three months of 2023 alone, they acquired stories of practically $840,000 in losses from job scams — a 250% enhance in comparison with the 12 months earlier than.
HawkSEM Expertise Acquisition Supervisor Angela Cuadros seen a spike in hiring scams that use our firm title.
To assist hold job seekers secure, Cuadros shares her prime ideas for recognizing a recruitment rip-off and what you are able to do to guard your self.
What are recruitment scams?
Recruitment scams are faux job gives or interview alternatives which might be truly fraudulent schemes to steal cash or delicate private info.
Utilizing the id of a legit employer, these scammers might:
- Arrange and conduct interviews
- Ask for private info (even merely a cellphone quantity or date of delivery) or a background verify
- Request a fee for coaching or software charges
- Supply a place and ask on your checking account info for direct deposit
These faux recruiters will be extraordinarily convincing. Individuals might even undergo an in depth hiring course of earlier than they ask for any private info in any respect.
The place do recruitment scams occur?
In line with the most recent BBB Scam Tracker data, Fraudsters’ firsts touchpoint is almost certainly to happen by way of e mail (41%) or textual content message (18%).
Job hunters claimed they typically encountered these scams on Certainly, LinkedIn, and Telegram.
LinkedIn alone reported that over 46 million faux accounts had been blocked on the time of registration, 17 million had been restricted earlier than any stories had been made, and over 232,000 accounts had been eliminated after members reported them.
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Because the Federal Trade Commission explains, these job scams are marketed the identical approach all legit jobs are: on-line job postings, social media, and even print, TV, and radio. And the danger of economic loss is greater than you may count on.
Who’s the goal?
The BBB stories that these between the ages of 18 and 34 are on the highest threat for employment scams, which embrace financial loss.

(Picture: HawkSEM)
How a lot? A whopping median lack of over $1,500.
Widespread kinds of recruitment scams
Cuadros has picked up on widespread patterns with recruitment scams.
“I’ve seen that candidates are requested to create an account utilizing delicate private info, present fee to be able to apply, and conduct interviews by way of social platforms like Skype and WhatsApp,” says Cuadros.
“Whereas there are a selection of legit firms that may require creating an account to make use of their applicant monitoring system,” Cuadros explains, “these are normally skilled platforms like Greenhouse and Lever and so they usually solely require info like your title and e mail tackle.”
Listed below are some particular job scams to concentrate on:
1. Faux job postings (typically work-from-home positions)
Imprecise job descriptions with suspiciously excessive pay are posted on legit job posting boards and social media websites.
2. Upfront fee as a primary step
Through the hiring course of, the scammer might request fee for a background verify or fee for coaching supplies.
“A standard sample I see includes scammers providing jobs and requiring candidates to supply banking info or different monetary info to be able to obtain tools or for coaching supplies,” says Cuadros.
“That is very true for the ‘distant jobs’ that don’t require any in-person interactions.”
3. Phishing
Emails that use the id of legit firms and workers ask for private info or cash to safe a job provide (once more, typically with excessive pay).
4. Interview scams
Faux interviews are carried out by scammers, usually by way of e mail or apps, and so they have a tendency to supply the job instantly.
5. Recruitment company
Rip-off recruitment companies require a price to assist victims discover a job and disappear after the fee is made.
6. Faux web sites
Utilizing actual logos, model colours, and basic design of legit firm web sites, scammers trick job seekers into offering private info by way of a faux web site.
7. Test cashing
As a part of the faux hiring course of, scammers ship a verify for victims to deposit after which request a few of the cash to be despatched again, just for the verify to bounce quickly after.
Easy methods to spot a rip-off: 8 crimson flags
At HawkSEM, we’re dedicated to offering a safe and reliable recruitment course of.
“I’m very acquainted with recruitment scams as a recruiter myself and likewise as somebody who helps job seekers,” says Cuadros.
“The frequency of those experiences has elevated dramatically, which is why I discover it necessary to speak our recruitment practices so candidates know which indicators to look out for.”
Listed below are the highest crimson flags we’ve picked up on over the past 12 months:
1. Requests for fee
Be cautious of any job alternative that asks for cash upfront, whether or not for software charges, coaching supplies, or different prices.
Official employers gained’t request fee or purchases of any type to use for or safe a job.
2. Unverified contact strategies
At HawkSEM, all official communications and digital assembly invites come from e mail addresses ending in @hawkem.com — by no means Gmail or Hotmail — and that is commonplace apply throughout most employers.
HawkSEM doesn’t contact candidates through textual content message, WhatsApp, Fb Messenger, Skype, WeChat, Telegram, or another social media or messaging platform to arrange an interview.
In case you obtain job-related emails or messages from another area, or if a recruiter asks you to speak by way of private e mail addresses or different unverified channels, it may very well be a rip-off.
3. Job gives with out an interview
Real job gives will at all times comply with our thorough three-step interview course of right here at HawkSEM, which incorporates digital face-to-face conferences with our management.
Be cautious of any provide made and not using a job interview or after a short interplay.
4. Requests for private info
Keep away from offering delicate private info, akin to your Social Safety quantity, financial institution particulars, or contact info till you’re sure the job provide is legit and you’ve got verified the employer’s authenticity.
5. Suspiciously excessive beginning wage and work-from-home positions
If the wage provided appears too good to be true, it in all probability is. Significantly if the job description appears obscure or “simple” and is a work-from-home place.
“Scams have change into extra widespread since distant work turned the brand new norm,” says Cuadros, “and so they typically goal candidates who’re on the lookout for distant alternatives like ours.”
6. Typos, urgency, and obscure solutions in regards to the place
It’s at all times a good suggestion to analysis the corporate contacting you and confirm any interviews or job gives straight by way of official channels.
Job listings, gives, and communication with recruiters ought to at all times be extremely skilled — which means little to no typos or urgency and loads of particulars about what the place entails.
7. Chilly calls about job alternatives
Recruiters might attain out to certified candidates by way of platforms like LinkedIn and not using a job software.
Nevertheless, it’s unusual to obtain a chilly name, e mail, or provide by way of textual content messaging platforms.
8. E mail-only job interviews
Job interviews will usually be carried out face-to-face by way of widespread video conferencing platforms akin to Google Meets, Microsoft Groups, or Zoom.
Interviews carried out by way of e mail alone are usually a crimson flag for a rip-off.
What to do in the event you encounter a recruitment rip-off
In case you’re the sufferer of a recruitment rip-off, there are some necessary steps to take to guard your self and others.
1. Report the rip-off
Report any scams instantly to:
2. Shield your info
In case you gave away any private info, make sure to:
- Contact your banks and notify them of the rip-off
- Monitor your credit score report
- Safe your on-line accounts
3. Unfold consciousness
It’s necessary to maintain others from falling sufferer to the identical rip-off. Share your expertise to lift consciousness — it’s extra widespread than many would count on and your story may spare others.
Actual-life examples of recruitment scams
Cuadros shares a narrative that significantly stands out from her expertise.
“Not too long ago, a candidate utilized through our web site and tell us that they selected to go this route as a result of the job that ‘we’ posted on LinkedIn required some type of fee,” says Cuadros.
“After performing some digging, I discovered a faux job publish on LinkedIn utilizing the HawkSEM title and directing candidates to a third-party web site unrelated to us.”
Cuadro explains that the publish was “the identical as our different posts, verbatim, and it was linked to the official HawkSEM LinkedIn firm web page.”
This can be a good instance of how legit these scams can seem and why it’s so necessary to speak with candidates about acceptable recruitment practices.
This type of story has change into more and more widespread. “Fortunately, they didn’t fall sufferer to this rip-off,” Cuadros says, “however we wish to be certain that nobody else turns into vulnerable.”
The takeaway
Recruitment scams are on the rise and techniques have gotten extra elusive.
As a pacesetter within the digital advertising business, it’s irritating to have our credible and trusted id impersonated. However it’s much more upsetting for id theft for use to rip-off harmless job seekers.
Maintain the above crimson flags and ideas in thoughts to keep away from falling into the entice of scammy recruiters.