Looking for work? Beware of ID thieves
When you answer hundreds of online job postings with no response, you get a big lift when an employer finally says you're a top candidate. But watch out. Both the job and the employer could be fake.
"I've been unemployed for almost five months and sent out 150 resumes," said Seattle job seeker Annalisa Parlee.
Parlee says she's made it to the interview stage, but the competition is fierce. So she stays on top of new job listings posted on key websites, including Craigslist.
"My last job and the job before that were both Craigslist jobs so I found legitimate jobs." Parlee said.
She thought a recent Craigslist posting had potential. The posting, for a personal assistant to a Real Estate CEO, looked like a possible match with her real estate management background, so she sent her resume. And to her surprise, she got an immediate response.
"Congratulations! Your resume's great, and you're one of three people that we're interested in." Parlee said, paraphrasing the e-mail she received.
But in order to proceed, the so-called employer needed to know her credit score and needed her to forward the information right away.
That was the big red flag.
"'We would like a credit report.' And then they gave a link to go and do your credit report." Parlee said.
Legitimate employers never request financial or credit information before they interview you in person and are ready to offer you the job. In this case, the "employer" provided a link that went to what appeared to be a fake credit report site. Filling out the form to get the requested credit score would have provided extensive personal information.
Parlee found another red flag on the "senior executive's" website link. The name on the link was nothing like the business name on the website that came up. Even more troubling, the employer's website gave no solid information about the company or the company's history.
"Every time I tried to click on a link to tell me about the company, it just went to, like, an error page." Parlee said.
On a hunch, Parlee e-mailed the employer and offered to provide her credit information once she got a final interview.
"I never heard back from them. Nothing," she said.
That was Parlee's final confirmation that something was up.
"You go and give the information, and they gather that information. And they've got your social security number, your name your birth date all of that information that they can use to steal your identity. That's what I think they're doing." Parlee said.
Any job application response that immediately asks for your bank or credit information is a huge red flag for trouble. Job scam victims report unauthorized credit card charges, emptied bank accounts and identity theft, but never any sign of a real job.
So don't take the bait, and share this alert with anyone you know who may be looking for work.
"I've been unemployed for almost five months and sent out 150 resumes," said Seattle job seeker Annalisa Parlee.
Parlee says she's made it to the interview stage, but the competition is fierce. So she stays on top of new job listings posted on key websites, including Craigslist.
"My last job and the job before that were both Craigslist jobs so I found legitimate jobs." Parlee said.
She thought a recent Craigslist posting had potential. The posting, for a personal assistant to a Real Estate CEO, looked like a possible match with her real estate management background, so she sent her resume. And to her surprise, she got an immediate response.
"Congratulations! Your resume's great, and you're one of three people that we're interested in." Parlee said, paraphrasing the e-mail she received.
But in order to proceed, the so-called employer needed to know her credit score and needed her to forward the information right away.
That was the big red flag.
"'We would like a credit report.' And then they gave a link to go and do your credit report." Parlee said.
Legitimate employers never request financial or credit information before they interview you in person and are ready to offer you the job. In this case, the "employer" provided a link that went to what appeared to be a fake credit report site. Filling out the form to get the requested credit score would have provided extensive personal information.
Parlee found another red flag on the "senior executive's" website link. The name on the link was nothing like the business name on the website that came up. Even more troubling, the employer's website gave no solid information about the company or the company's history.
"Every time I tried to click on a link to tell me about the company, it just went to, like, an error page." Parlee said.
On a hunch, Parlee e-mailed the employer and offered to provide her credit information once she got a final interview.
"I never heard back from them. Nothing," she said.
That was Parlee's final confirmation that something was up.
"You go and give the information, and they gather that information. And they've got your social security number, your name your birth date all of that information that they can use to steal your identity. That's what I think they're doing." Parlee said.
Any job application response that immediately asks for your bank or credit information is a huge red flag for trouble. Job scam victims report unauthorized credit card charges, emptied bank accounts and identity theft, but never any sign of a real job.
So don't take the bait, and share this alert with anyone you know who may be looking for work.
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