Recruitment scams trick people into giving away personal data or money by offering fake employment opportunities under the name of a legitimate company. Here’s what to look out for.

HawkSEM disclaimer:

  • HawkSEM will never ask you to provide payment to apply for a job opening; similarly, if you are asked to purchase a laptop or any other work equipment by us or another company prior to starting employment or receiving a paycheck, you may be dealing with a scammer.
  • Our team does not contact candidates via text message, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Telegram, or any other social media or messaging platform to set up an interview.
  • HawkSEM does not extend job offers without completing a thorough interview process and will never ask for sensitive personal information, such as your birthday or Social Security number, to apply.
  • HawkSEM interviews are always held via virtual conference meetings, and all communication and meeting invitations come from an @hawksem.com email address.

If you have been contacted by or seen what appears to be a suspicious job listing, email, or website using the HawkSEM name, please contact us so we can report the issue and keep others from falling victim to recruitment scams.

With an increased interest in remote employment, recruitment scams are at an all-time high.

In fact, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports that in the first three months of 2023 alone, they received reports of nearly $840,000 in losses from job scams — a 250% increase compared to the year before.

HawkSEM Talent Acquisition Manager Angela Cuadros noticed a spike in hiring scams that use our company name.

To help keep job seekers safe, Cuadros shares her top tips for spotting a recruitment scam and what you can do to protect yourself.

What are recruitment scams?

Recruitment scams are fake job offers or interview opportunities that are actually fraudulent schemes to steal money or sensitive personal information.

Using the identity of a legitimate employer, these scammers may:

  • Set up and conduct interviews
  • Ask for personal information (even simply a phone number or date of birth) or a background check
  • Request a payment for training or application fees
  • Offer a position and ask for your bank account information for direct deposit

These fake recruiters can be extremely convincing. People may even go through an extensive hiring process before they ask for any personal information at all.

Where do recruitment scams happen?

According to the most recent BBB Scam Tracker data, Fraudsters’ firsts touchpoint is most likely to occur through email (41%) or text message (18%).

Job hunters claimed they often encountered these scams on Indeed, LinkedIn, and Telegram.

LinkedIn alone reported that over 46 million fake accounts were blocked at the time of registration, 17 million were restricted before any reports were made, and over 232,000 accounts were removed after members reported them.

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As the Federal Trade Commission explains, these job scams are advertised the same way all legitimate jobs are: online job postings, social media, and even print, TV, and radio. And the risk of financial loss is higher than you might expect.

Who’s the target?

The BBB reports that those between the ages of 18 and 34 are at the highest risk for employment scams, which include monetary loss.

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(Image: HawkSEM)

How much? A whopping median loss of over $1,500.

Common types of recruitment scams

Cuadros has picked up on common patterns with recruitment scams.

“I’ve noticed that candidates are asked to create an account using sensitive personal information, provide payment in order to apply, and conduct interviews through social platforms like Skype and WhatsApp,” says Cuadros.

“While there are a number of legitimate companies that might require creating an account to use their applicant tracking system,” Cuadros explains, “these are usually professional platforms like Greenhouse and Lever and they typically only require information like your name and email address.”

Here are some specific job scams to be aware of:

1. Fake job postings (often work-from-home positions)

Vague job descriptions with suspiciously high pay are posted on legitimate job posting boards and social media sites.

2. Upfront payment as a first step

During the hiring process, the scammer may request payment for a background check or payment for training materials.

“A common pattern I see involves scammers offering jobs and requiring candidates to provide banking information or other financial information in order to receive equipment or for training materials,” says Cuadros.

“This is especially true for the ‘remote jobs’ that don’t require any in-person interactions.”

3. Phishing

Emails that use the identity of legitimate companies and employees ask for personal information or money to secure a job offer (again, often with high pay).

4. Interview scams

Fake interviews are conducted by scammers, typically through email or apps, and they tend to offer the job immediately.

5. Recruitment agency

Scam recruitment agencies require a fee to help victims find a job and disappear after the payment is made.

6. Fake websites

Using real logos, brand colors, and general design of legitimate company websites, scammers trick job seekers into providing personal information through a fake site.

7. Check cashing

As part of the fake hiring process, scammers send a check for victims to deposit and then request some of the money to be sent back, only for the check to bounce soon after.

How to spot a scam: 8 red flags

At HawkSEM, we’re committed to providing a secure and trustworthy recruitment process.

“I’m very familiar with recruitment scams as a recruiter myself and also as someone who helps job seekers,” says Cuadros.

“The frequency of these experiences has increased dramatically, which is why I find it important to communicate our recruitment practices so candidates know which signs to look out for.”

Here are the top red flags we’ve picked up on over the last year:

1. Requests for payment

Be wary of any job opportunity that asks for money upfront, whether for application fees, training materials, or other costs.

Legitimate employers won’t request payment or purchases of any kind to apply for or secure a job.

2. Unverified contact methods

At HawkSEM, all official communications and virtual meeting invitations come from email addresses ending in @hawkem.com — never Gmail or Hotmail — and this is standard practice across most employers.

HawkSEM does not contact candidates via text message, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, WeChat, Telegram, or any other social media or messaging platform to set up an interview.

If you receive job-related emails or messages from any other domain, or if a recruiter asks you to communicate through personal email addresses or other unverified channels, it could be a scam.

3. Job offers without an interview

Genuine job offers will always follow our thorough three-step interview process here at HawkSEM, which includes virtual face-to-face meetings with our leadership.

Be cautious of any offer made without a job interview or after a brief interaction.

4. Requests for personal information

Avoid providing sensitive personal information, such as your Social Security number, bank details, or contact information until you are certain the job offer is legitimate and you have verified the employer’s authenticity.

5. Suspiciously high starting salary and work-from-home positions

If the salary offered seems too good to be true, it probably is. Particularly if the job description seems vague or “easy” and is a work-from-home position.

“Scams have become more common since remote work became the new norm,” says Cuadros, “and they often target candidates who are looking for remote opportunities like ours.”

6. Typos, urgency, and vague answers about the position

It’s always a good idea to research the company contacting you and verify any interviews or job offers directly through official channels.

Job listings, offers, and communication with recruiters should always be highly professional — meaning little to no typos or urgency and plenty of details about what the position entails.

7. Cold calls about job opportunities

Recruiters may reach out to qualified candidates through platforms like LinkedIn without a job application.

However, it is uncommon to receive a cold call, email, or offer through text messaging platforms.

8. Email-only job interviews

Job interviews will typically be conducted face-to-face through common video conferencing platforms such as Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom.

Interviews conducted through email alone are generally a red flag for a scam.

What to do if you encounter a recruitment scam

If you’re the victim of a recruitment scam, there are some important steps to take to protect yourself and others.

1. Report the scam

Report any scams immediately to:

2. Protect your information

If you gave away any personal information, be sure to:

  • Contact your banks and notify them of the scam
  • Monitor your credit report
  • Secure your online accounts

3. Spread awareness

It’s important to keep others from falling victim to the same scam. Share your experience to raise awareness — it is more common than many would expect and your story could spare others.

Real-life examples of recruitment scams

Cuadros shares a story that particularly stands out from her experience.

“Recently, a candidate applied via our website and let us know that they chose to go this route because the job that ‘we’ posted on LinkedIn required some sort of payment,” says Cuadros.

“After doing some digging, I found a fake job post on LinkedIn using the HawkSEM name and directing applicants to a third-party website unrelated to us.”

Cuadro explains that the post was “the same as our other posts, verbatim, and it was linked to the official HawkSEM LinkedIn company page.”

This is a good example of how legitimate these scams can appear and why it’s so important to communicate with candidates about appropriate recruitment practices.

This kind of story has become increasingly common. “Thankfully, they didn’t fall victim to this scam,” Cuadros says, “but we want to make sure no one else becomes susceptible.”

The takeaway

Recruitment scams are on the rise and tactics are becoming more elusive.

As a leader in the digital marketing industry, it’s frustrating to have our credible and trusted identity impersonated. But it’s even more upsetting for identity theft to be used to scam innocent job seekers.

Keep the above red flags and tips in mind to avoid falling into the trap of scammy recruiters.

Patience Hurlburt-Lawton

Patience Hurlburt-Lawton

Patience is a writer, editor, and educator. As a content marketing manager at HawkSEM, Patience leans into the power of empathy and understanding to create content that connects the dots. When she’s not a writer, she’s a singer/songwriter, trail romper, and adventure seeker with her wolfie dog, Jackson.