Job seekers scams are on the rise
New year. Old bullsh*t.
:90 read | Chime in on LinkedIn here and Twitter here
Bad news: job seeker scams are on the rise.
I post about this every 6 months or so. Feels like a broken record. But over the last month, it’s only gotten worse.
👉There are scammers using the Hirewell name to target job seekers to get them to pay bogus fees.
And it isn’t just us. I’ve talked to a few contacts at other recruiting agencies who are dealing with the same bullsh*t.
We’ve been getting contacted by people who are being scammed on a daily basis for the past month. This time around, the scammers are using multiple channels:
LinkedIn DMs
Telegram
Email accounts with hirewell(dot)in or gmail.
The scam involves an offer for temporary work and/or actually having some people do a (fake) short term project, but saying the employment taxes must be prepaid. i.e. “we’ll pay you 2 grand for your work, but you have to send us $150 for taxes.” Or some other made up fee.
The scammers appear to be targeting non-US workers (most of the people who have contacted us have been from India, Singapore, Australia, etc.) Where we do not even operate.
This is an industry-wide (and worldwide) problem (not just a Hirewell issue). So a few tips:
👉Always verify email addresses with company domains.
Our team *only* uses hirewell(dot)com. Our newsletter uses hirewell(dot)net.
Any other hirewell variation isn’t us. Assume the same goes for any other real company out there.
Never work with companies using gmail or other free addresses. They’re easy to set up and impossible to shut down on a domain level.
👉Be wary of any LinkedIn profile with a handful of connections.
They’re free and easy to set up. A very low follow/connection count is your first clue it’s fake.
👉Look into where the real recruiting firm operates.
I think the scammers are trying to fly under the radar by targeting job seekers in markets where the real firm doesn’t work. It appears that this is also to confuse people with (bogus) hiring practices they’re not familiar with and in some cases to take advantage of people where English isn’t their first language.
👉Literally never use Telegram.
It’s a scammer cesspool. Free, anonymous, and easy accounts to set up. Just assume anyone contacting you there is trying to take advantage of you.
👉If you’re unsure, contact the real agency *before* engaging with the scammer further.
Hit me up with a DM. But please follow these other steps first. We’ve been flooded.
You can follow me on LinkedIn here and Twitter here. Join the discussion on this LinkedIn post (or give it a 👍) here.