Avoiding Job Scams
With an increase in remote positions comes an increase in scammer tactics. It can be difficult to know who to trust in your job or internship search. Some job scams appear to be legitimate positions with established companies, while others are easier to identify as fraudulent.
A job scam is a fraudulent offer for work disguised as a legitimate position with a legitimate company.
The goal of the scammer is to:
- Acquire your personal information (social security number or other sensitive personal information).
- Gain access to your bank account.
NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION OR PERSONAL INFORMATION!
The following are some strategies to avoid potential scams.
Research the employer.
- Do they have a professional website?
- Is the position that you are applying for listed on their career page?
- Is the employer emailing you from an email domain that matches that of other employees on their website or their web domain?
- Can you find the employer on LinkedIn affiliated with the company?
Research the position. The following are common with scammers.
- Is the job too good to be true?
- Are you being offered a lot of money for little work?
- Was the position emailed to you without having applied for it?
- Did they ask you for a screening fee?
- Was the interview via online messaging services with no in-person or human interaction?
- If the employer seems aggressive, pushy, rude, or is pressuring you to proceed quickly, it could be a scam.
- If you experience unprofessional emails, unnecessary or persistent calls from the employer wanting you to accept the offer, or requests for payment of any kind â do not proceed!
- If the employer regularly uses poor grammar, incorrect use of words, seemingly poor translations â proceed with caution. All are common indications of a scam.
- If youâre being asked to cash a check or money order immediately, or use gift cards, crypto or cash apps â do not proceed!
- Scammers send checks, requiring you to deposit into your bank account. They may then ask you to withdraw money and deposit it into another account. The original check bounces and you are accountable for the funds.
- They may ask for bank account information to set up direct deposit for youÌębeforeÌęyou begin your position. Use an abundance of caution. It could be a scam.
- Do not wire money to an employer â itâs a scam.
Scammers send checks, requiring you to deposit into your bank account. They may then ask you to withdraw money and deposit it into another account. The original check bounces and you are accountable for the funds.
- They may ask for bank account information to set up direct deposit for youÌębeforeÌęyou begin your position. Use an abundance of caution. It could be a scam.
- Do not wire money to an employer â itâs a scam.
- Fake job listings
- Conducting thorough research can help you identify a fake job.
- Imposter
- Claiming to be someone theyâre not. Commonly posing as someone affiliated with the company or agency. (Do your research!)
- Credit Report
- If the employer claims they need to examine your credit history to verify your eligibility for the position. They then ask for you to pay for the credit report with your credit card â which scammers will then charge unauthorized fees.
- Work from Home
- There are a lot of legitimate remote work options. However, not all are legitimate. Scammers ask a job seeker to pay a fee or purchase items to accommodate working from home with the promise of reimbursing you and/or commission for getting others to join (pyramid scheme).
If you have questions about a position, company, or job offer, the Office of Career Services is here to help. If something doesnât feel right, donât proceed.
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Did you receive a suspicious job offer via your UTampa email? Click the âReport Phishâ button on the taskbar at the top of your Outlook email to notify UTampa Information Security.
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If you think youâve been scammed, alert your bank, local authorities, and the Office of Career Services. We need to know about scammers so that we can protect UTampa students and alumni. If the scammer is on Handshake, we will remove them from the system.
