It’s that time of year again.
Newly minted college graduates are turning their attention to the job market, excited to begin the next phase of their lives. You may have even received a flurry of graduation invitations from proud family members and clients. Those eager job seekers have undoubtedly been flooding employer inboxes with resumes and cover letters, but the Federal Trade Commission says they need to be on the lookout for job scams.
What is the latest job scam?
According to the FTC, the scam is initiated with an email from someone claiming to be a job recruiter who requests a resume. “After you send that over, you’re told that the format is ‘incompatible,’” the agency explains. “The next thing you know, you’re asked to send your resume to a website to ‘reformat’ it—for a fee. In other words, they’re asking you to pay for a job.”
How do job seekers identify this scam?
The FTC provides three tips that can help keep people from falling victim to job scams:
- Do an online search. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” You might find out they’ve scammed other people.
- Talk to someone you trust. Describe the offer to them. What do they think? You don’t want to be rushed into a decision.
- Don’t pay for the promise of a job. Legitimate employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer.
If someone believes they have been targeted by a scam—whether by email, phone, or in person—the FTC recommends reporting it. Alerting the authorities lets them spread the information to potential victims, hopefully preventing them from falling victim to these scams.
For consumer-related scams, visit ReportFraud.FTC.gov. Tax scams should be reported to Phishing@IRS.gov.
Source: “Applying for jobs? Be on the lookout for scams,” FTC.gov
