Like just about everything else we do searching for a job online has become the norm for many job seekers and there are many legitimate online employment websites such as Indeed.com, Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com, however, merely because an ad for a job appears on a legitimate website does not mean that the job is for real.  It may be just a scam seeking either personal information to make you a victim of identity theft.  Although Indeed.com, Career builder.com, Monster.com and other online employment agencies do their best to screen their ads, they can’t come even close to being perfect.

The Federal Trade Commission is warning people about phony job recruiters using legitimate sites such as Indeed or LinkedIn to contact people asking them to apply for a job on a phony counterfeit website that looks like the website of a legitimate company or schedule an interview where you would be asked for personal information that would lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft.  When you apply for a job, it is necessary to provide your Social Security number so many people provide this information in response to these phony job recruitments and end up becoming a victim of identity theft.

In some instances the scammers will copy outdated online job postings of legitimate companies, but include the scammers contact information.  Once you contact them, the scammers request your Social Security number or in other instances request your bank account information in order to send you an advance payment, when in reality the scammers merely want to gain access to your bank account.

TIPS

Before providing any personal information or scheduling a virtual interview, go the real company’s website and not through a link provided by the “recruiter.”  There you can go to the company’s “career opportunities” or “jobs” page to see if the company actually is hiring and even then you should apply directly through the company’s encrypted site rather than through links provided by the recruiter.

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