Fake job postings are built to look like the real thing. They use real company names, believable pay and friendly recruiters. What they want is your money, your bank details or your identity.
Remote jobs attract the most scams, because the people behind them know you will never see an office. Here are the signs to watch for.
The warning signs
- The interview happens only by text or chat app. Real employers talk to you on the phone or by video before they hire you.
- You are hired almost immediately. No real employer offers a job after a few messages and no conversation.
- They send you a check. The classic version: deposit a check for equipment, then send part of the money to a “vendor”. The check bounces days later and the money you sent is gone.
- They ask you to pay. For training, a starter kit, a background check or software. A real employer pays for those.
- They want your bank details or Social Security number before an offer. Those belong on paperwork after you are hired, through the employer’s own system.
- The email address does not match the company. A large company recruiting from a free email account is a red flag.
- The pay is far above what the job usually pays. If it sounds too good for the work described, it usually is.
How to check a posting
Look the employer up yourself and find the job on their own website. If it is not there, contact the company through the phone number or email on their official site, not the one in the posting, and ask whether the job is real.
Want to test yourself? Take the Spot the Red Flag Job Posting quiz. It takes two minutes.
If you already replied
- Stop replying, and do not send money or deposit any check they sent.
- If you gave bank details, call your bank today.
- If you gave your Social Security number, visit IdentityTheft.gov for the steps to protect yourself.
- Report the posting to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If you see a posting on ContraCostaJobs that looks wrong, tell us and we will look at it.