A Job Scam College Students (and Their HR Team) Should Know About

If you’re visiting college-aged relatives over the holidays, warn them about a variation on the “job interview” scam we’ve heard about from students looking for summer or permanent employment. And warn your HR staff that criminals may be misusing your company’s name as part of the scam.

Virtual Job Scams They’re nothing new, but they’ve taken a personal, persuasive turn. College students report being approached on social media platforms by people claiming to be recruiters from Wall Street firms, national retailers, tech companies and other hot spots for a job. The pitch is compelling. The “recruiter” may claim to have a connection at the university and say that the dean or a professor has recommended the student as a top talent for the company’s prestigious management program. Or the person may say he or she is an alumnus and pepper the conversation with professor names, campus landmarks and memories of his or her days at good, old-fashioned recruiting school here.

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Next, a series of online interviews are conducted with “executives” who call in from impressive-looking conference rooms. The “job offer” is then presented in a formal-looking document with the company logo on it. Once the exultant candidate accepts, the usual “human resources paperwork” arrives, requiring the student’s Social Security number, bank account or driver’s license information, or other personal details. In some cases, the recruiter may send a generous check as a “signing bonus,” but requires that a portion of the money be sent to someone else, perhaps to cover the cost of a company phone or laptop.

What’s really going on? It turns out that the “recruiter” is an identity thief who has used a fake conference room background, a copied and pasted logo, and publicly available data (the name of the dean, well-known professors, school traditions, etc.) in an attempt to steal personal information or carry out a scam. fake check scam.

What advice can you give to a student to avoid a fake job offer?

Check the recruiter’s “references” first. If a recruiter uses someone’s name at the school, contact the faculty member directly before moving forward. If the story isn’t true, it’s a scam. Do your classmates a favor and let your college’s Career Services Office know.
Carefully review the recruiter’s email address. Company executives send emails from corporate accounts, not @gmail.com or other personal addresses. Of course, imposters have been known to hack into company email systems. A legitimate-looking address is no guarantee that it’s real, but a message from a personal account is a clear sign that it’s a scam.
Stop if you are asked for personal information. If the conversation turns to bank account information, driver’s license numbers, etc., stop the conversation. Contact the company at a phone number you know is real (not the one the recruiter gave you) and double-check whether the job offer is genuine.
Report your experience to the FTC. If a student you know comes across a scammer, please report it to us at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Also, make sure your HR professionals are aware of this scam and are prepared to respond to student inquiries if your company name has been misused.