(Editor’s note:  Imagine a sophisticated financial scam aimed at those seeking a job.  When we read this Brock Young post, we had to add this to our webpage’s content.  We highlighted some key aspects of this scam with boldface so that our readers can watch for these key scam attributes.)

SCAM ALERT

A situation hit this last week that I wanted to make sure job seekers out there were aware of.

-An individual applied to a job posting that “appeared” to be from a legitimate company (company was real, had a website, similar positions in other locations, etc., but it turns out the job wasn’t posted by them).
Email address for “recruiter” ended in “.io,” and had a slightly difference domain name than the actual company.
Contact phone number on job post had a 418 area code, which is from Quebec, Canada.

-Applicant was contacted for and then conducted an interview over TEAMs.
“Employer” didn’t have their camera on.

-The applicant received an “official” job offer and multiple onboarding forms (including a direct deposit) via email. “Hiring manager” requested forms to be filled out and returned… which the applicant did.

The next day, the applicant noticed an attempted withdraw from their bank account.

Scammers are getting smart, smarter every day.

Their sole focus is on finding always ways to relieve you, me, and every other productive citizen of our hard earned money.

Don’t become a victim. How?
Before applying, double check all email addresses to ensure the domain (everything after the “@” symbol) is correct for the company you’re applying to.
Before applying, double check the phone number to make sure the area code corresponds with the company/ company locations.
Be wary if the hiring team conducts a virtual interview on TEAM, Zoom, or WebEx, but doesn’t have their camera’s on.
Triple check all of the above if you receive a job offer after only conducting a telephone interview.