Fraudulent Employers
Sometimes it's hard to know if a job posting is legitimate or not. Here are some tips to help you navigate your work search:
- Research the company and the recruiter. Check out the company website to see what you can learn about their culture and their business model. If they have a list of staff members, see if you can find the name of the recruiter listed on the job posting, and if possible, check that the email address matches.
- Watch out for similar company names and email addresses. Since a scammer can't use an official email address from a real company, they will often create an email address that is very similar to the actual company address, and hope that you don't notice the difference. They may also use a real employee's name, the real company name & address, but the email address will be slightly different.
- Familiarize yourself with common job scams. Forbes has a great article here.
- If something feels “too good to be true”, it probably is. "Make $300 in a day from home". Large sums of money for minimal, easy work is a common tactic that a scammer will use to lure students in and steal your information. If a job seems “too good to be true,” flag that employer and let Student Employment Services know so we can investigate immediately and protect you from being potentially scammed.
- Never cash a cheque for, or give any money to, an employer. A common technique of Internet scammers is to ask you to cash a cheque at a bank, and then return some of that money to the employer while you get to keep some of the cash for yourself. This is a scam. No reputable employer will require you to pay for anything on your own, or cash a cheque on their behalf, before starting your job. If you receive an email asking you to do anything remotely like this, flag the employer immediately and contact your city’s Better Business Bureau.
- Be wary of an employer who offers you a job before even speaking with you. Any reputable employer normally requires an interview (and more) before hiring. If you have any questions or concerns, flag the employer, notify us at Student Employment Services, and we will help you investigate.
These tips have been adapted from Handshake.
Wall of Shame
Below is a list of fraudulent employers who have tried to post on CareerCentral:
- Name: Mr. Snyder Hollie
Email: volunteer@smarittanspurse.org
Real Organization: Samaritan's Purse - International Relief
Real Website: www.samaritanspurse.org
Red Flags: The false email address has two letter 't''s, while the real organization only uses one. The job posting included $300 per week for easy work-from-home employment.
- Name: Laura Ortega
Email: laura.ortega@creativemagonline.com - Real Organization: Creative Mag
- Real Website: www.creativemag.com
- Red Flags: The email address was slightly different, and the job posting was work-from-home and paid well. We also verified with the real organization and confirmed that it was a scam.
- Name: David Zion
Website: creativestaffconsulting.com
Red Flags: These scammers created their own 'company' webpage, but the job duties gave them away as a scam. The job offered to send $300 weekly, the job was offered without meeting the candidate, and they requested information such as age and gender (an employer can't legally ask for that information).
- Name: John Holzapfel
Email: careers@aventtics.com
Real Email: aventics@emerson.com
Real Organization: Aventics
Website: www.aventics.com
Red Flags: The false email address has two letter 't''s, while the real organization only uses one. The job posting included $25/hr for easy employment for students (people/students don't usually make such high wages when not fully qualified). The real company doesn't even have an office in Courtenay, as the fake job posting listed.