(Editor’s note: When we read this Brianna Morales LinkedIn article about recruiting scams, we wanted to share it for the many #militaryprofessionalsintransition who will get LinkedIn connections and notes for nefarious sources. We have bold faced the warning signs that veterans should recognize when a recruiter contact them about a job opportunity.)
Y’all I got scammed.
It was hard to accept, but my mission is empowering through employment, so I want to help others avoid the same.
So here is what happened:
I’ve hired many people that weren’t “open to work” as a hashtagRecruiter at Brooksource, so when a recruiter reached out with my dream job, I responded.
Here is why:
I knew and trusted the company.
He saw my value as a hashtagMilitary Program Manager and called out specific things from my resume.
His communication was professional and felt genuine. No syntax or grammatical errors.
The hashtagsalary was appropriate.
His LinkedIn shows him as a hashtagveteran, attached to the actual company, and everything looked normal.
We had almost 100 network connections in common.
But it is wasn’t real.
For this Technical Tip Tuesday, here are the red flags I noticed (in hindsight) that I want you to be on the lookout for:
He emailed me at 5 and 6 am each day, including a weekend and weekday. We’re humans in a digital age; it registered but wasn’t a deal breaker.
His signature line looked off. He included a photo of himself, and 4 images of awards the company had received. The graphics looked a little weird.
He never said where he saw my resume or profile.
He told me about a hashtagbonus before he told me about the hashtagsalary.
He asked if this was the right email address to send opportunities to 3x in our exchange. As a recruiter, checking 1x is typically enough when you’re already communicating.
I asked him for a phone call and he said he was too busy, and we could talk later. As a recruiter, I also don’t always have the availability for unscheduled phone calls but I would never submit a candidate to our clients without ever speaking to them.
I added him on LinkedIn and he didn’t accept. Not a big deal, we’re busy.
The deal breaker was when I saw his email was from a Gmail account. Gmail showed his first and last name, so I didn’t notice it for 2 days. The company was in the name, but it was definitely @gmail.com.
Once I saw it was a hashtagGmail account, I reached out to my contacts at that company, and no one knew him. They confirmed they didn’t have Gmail accounts.
I did a reverse image search of his LinkedIn/signature line and it only showed his hashtagLinkedIn picture.
Ugh.
Be hashtagvigilant. Report bad actors. It can happen to any of us.
Even a person that recruits for a living.
hashtagemploymentscam hashtagscammer hashtagscam hashtagredflag hashtagtechnicaltiptuesday hashtagveteran hashtagjobseeker hashtagopentowork