Avoiding Job Scams

Potential Red Flags for a Fraudulent Employer

• It is difficult to find additional information about the employer (employer name, website, physical address, LinkedIn account).
• The organization does not have a physical address or the address is a residential (home) address or P.O. Box, although there are some exceptions.
• The organization's website does not work properly, possesses minimal information, or provides information not related to the organization at all.
• The contact email address for the organization differs from that of the organization. For example, the organization is KPMG, but the contact’s email is kpng.com or NAME@yahoo.com.
• The organization shows up when you do a Google search using the employer name and the word “scam.”
• The employer offers you a position or funding without any interaction with you (no phone or in-person interview), and there is no face-to-face (virtual or otherwise) communication; rather, you receive an offer based solely upon an email or your resume.
• The person communicating with you is not listed on the organization's website.
• The process is rushed or the person/organization asks you to expedite the process.

Job Scams Via Email 

Many job scams are sent unsolicited by email, text, or messaging apps. What does a scam email look like?

• The email is poorly written. One of the best signs of a scam email is poor grammar, bad spelling, or otherwise hard-to-read emails. Scammers often deliberately target people with difficulty reading, communicating, or spelling because this population is particularly susceptible to being scammed. It is likely a scam if you get an email that has misspelled words, grammatical errors, or doesn’t make a lot of sense.
• The email designation is different from the company website. Legitimate companies should have email addresses that end with their company’s website name. For example, the University of Maryland emails end with @umd.edu, but a scam email pretending to come from a UMD employee might come from @umd.com. Another example would be adding an extra letter to the email address so that it very closely matches the legitimate email account (i.e. @careerr.com vs. @career.com or @iinternships.com vs. @internships.com).
• The email was sent to multiple applicants. Communications from legitimate companies will be sent only to you and will not contain the email addresses of other candidates except in special circumstances. You can check with the University Career Center if you receive something like this.
• The email does not contain your name. Emails that do not address you specifically (i.e., “Hello Applicant” or “Good Afternoon” are typically scams. Hiring officials will typically include your name in the email (i.e., “Hi Joy,”).
• The email asks you for personal information. If an email asks you to supply your full name, address, Social Security number, phone number, date of birth, or any other personal information, it is a scam. A legitimate company will ask you to provide this information on a secure platform, like in their official application process or in person.
• If you didn’t apply for a job but received an email for an interview or job offer, be careful! Typically, you apply to an organization, and then you receive communication extending a job interview or, in rare circumstances, a job offer. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and the sender’s email address versus domain names (i.e., you receive an email from jdoe123@ScamJobs.com but the website is www.fakejobs.com).  
• Legitimate companies will not communicate via text or chat as a primary form of communication. If you get an email asking you to continue communicating by text or messenger app (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Skype, etc.), it’s a scam! Legitimate companies do not generally ask you to communicate by texting or via messenger apps.

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Potential Red Flags for a Fraudulent Job Posting

• The position description is not professionally written; and includes a large amount of spelling and grammatical errors.
• The position requests you to submit personal information such as your social security number, bank account, or credit card information.
• The job description is very vague, and the compensation for the work outlined seems too good to be true (i.e., can make up to $50+/hour for an administrative position for minimal work).
• The position requires that you complete an “assignment” before the official start date to test your ability to do the job effectively.
• The position requires you to deposit a sum of money into your bank account when you have done no work to earn any money.
• The position requires an initial investment of money, out of your pocket, for some aspect of the work (i.e., licensure, purchase of supplies or training), or the organization sends you checks or money and asks you to buy gift cards in exchange.

Fraudulent Job Postings 

Never send or accept money as part of the application process without checking that this is legitimate. Never send money or accept checks from employers to be deposited into your personal bank account as part of the application or probationary period. Many common employment scams will ask for money as a part of your training, an enrollment fee, or they may ask you to buy supplies (like envelopes or shipping materials). These are more likely to be scams.

Multi-Level Marketing Companies Are Scams. Companies like Amway, Herbalife, Cutco, YoungLiving, Monat, doTerra, and Younique operate in precisely the same way as illegal pyramid schemes. These companies often target students or members of minority communities by offering them a way to “run their own business”, but in reality, they can make you lose thousands of dollars. Read this article from Forbes to learn more about how these companies operate. You can find a list of documented MLM companies on Wikipedia or MLMTruth.org.

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Help! Is This a Scam? 

If you engage what you believe to be a fraudulent employer or are ever concerned about the legitimacy of an employer or a job/internship position:

• End all communication with the employer immediately
• Contact the University Career Center & The President’s Promise for assistance regarding the next steps at ucc-studenthelp@umd.edu or by calling 301-314-7225
• You can forward any phishing emails you receive to your UMD email account to spam@umd.edu
• If it is a legitimate scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their online complaint assistant at ftc.gov/complaint or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). Providing detailed information about the scam can help the FTC track patterns and prevent future scams

Additional Websites for Researching Employers:

• Better Business Bureau 
• GlassDoor
• Read more about Job Scams from the Federal Trade Commission
• UMD IT Service Desk “Current Scams and Phishing Emails”