Buyer beware! Or in this case – Job Seekers Beware!
We are noticing an unsettling trend: Its unscrupulous opportunists who take advantage of job seekers dreams of finding a new job. I’m talking about people who use job postings and the promises of finding candidates a new position to gather personal information that can be used for the purposes of identity theft. I’m also talking about the people who take advantage of social marketing sites to steal information about you.
Now let me be very clear, not all web sites that promise to help you find a job are fronts for nefarious criminal types, but if you haven’t been on the job search front for a while, caution is needed so that a dream job opportunity doesn’t end up being a nightmare – like a scam to steal personal information or a pitch for costly career search services.
This situation is causing job seekers to become very frustrated, especially given the current state of the economy, as they wade the dangerous internet waters. The good news is that there are things you can look for and protect yourself. The only thing lost will be time, energy but not vital personal information.
First of all, be careful about how much personal information you include on social marketing sites. Some places encourage you to list all job positions and experience. This information can be stolen by identity thieves to build a background to steal your identity. Keep information in the public general not specific and limit access to that information to friend you know personally.
Other postings to be on the lookout for are the ones that are pretending to offer a job but are scam artists looking to defraud you. They may look like real ads with great potential and cool looking logos that look very similar to real companies, and sometimes, the people behind these fraudulent sites may even correspond with you once or twice to build up trust and before you know it, if you are a trusting soul, you may be willing to part with personal or financial information.
Legitimate job search firms or prospective employers will never request:
- Banking information or other financial information
- Social Insurance Information
- Your birth date.
Last year a poll showed that nearly 40% of the job site publishers found ads that were scams or fishing for personal information. Of those polled, more than 50% stated that the review process regularly flushed out ads that were asking job seekers to buy services/products or provide personal info.
Just like in pro sports where chemists are often one step ahead of the testing process for performance enhancing drugs, internet fraudsters quickly learn to break through the preventative filters put into place to stop them. (Sorry! After a long career in sports PR it’s hard not make the analogy.)
All is not doom and gloom as the internet can be a treasure chest of legitimate job information and opportunities. Here are some ways to protect yourself from obvious fraudsters.
- Check out the recruiter or HR manager named in the ad: do they exist and have a track record.
- Look for details: company name, salary range, position title should be listed.
- Be realistic: we all know the old adage … if it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. Look for salaries in line with experience and the position being offered.
- Research the posting: Ask colleagues in the industry, or if you know people at the company, find out if they are hiring. Your contacts might not know but doing your homework can weed out more obvious scams.
- Limit access to your personal information: Social networking is a powerful way to connect with people and network for job opportunities but don’t give so much information out that unscrupulous people can steal your identity … and your hard earned money.
It may seem a little cloak & dagger like but in the end a little research is better than an empty bank account.
Christian Hasse joined the recruitment firm Cramer & Co. – following more than a dozen years of senior public relations experience. His focus is on supporting searches in PR, Communications, Investor Relations, and Public Affairs, and building on his background in journalism and sports PR. He is also an industry guest speaker at various educational institutions and CPRS events.
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