I’m curious about the possibility of being contacted regarding what could be a fake job.

Anonymous

August 24,2023 at 3:01PM UTC

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I’m curious about the possibility of being contacted regarding what could be a fake job. I saw a job posting on LinkedIn. I was contacted almost immediately when I applied - first red flag, to me anyway. I tried to find a website at which this person supposedly worked, but one doesn’t exist.

I was going to ignore it, but just to confirm my suspicions, I responded telling her I couldn’t find the website. She claims they are a small recruitment company and their website is under construction - second red flag.

she then said the position is part time and a contract role, which I don’t want, so I told her it wasn’t what I was looking for.

Today, she contacted me about another role, contract to perm, full time. I don’t know. Something just doesn’t sit well with me.

Has anyone here had any experience being contacted about a possible fake job?

I'm going to stick with my gut, but wondered how prevalent these are. Thanks

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Tanner DuesburyAugust 24,2023 at 3:53PM UTC
Good call, definitely a fake job.
I get these via email pretty often. It's fairly common, I'd imagine, and the more job board sites you're on, the more common they get. The week I got the most was at about 10 fake job messages or emails in that 7-day period. Now I get about 1-2.
AnonymousAugust 24,2023 at 4:29PM UTC
I get these inquiries much more these days. Good job sniffing out the BS, stay diligent as you have been. This happened to me many years ago and I had a little extra time so I took it into actual calls with them to see how far it would go...the first meeting they wanted my social and more private ID stealing type of info. Before I hung up I called them out and blocked them after that never saw another message or reach out again.
AnonymousAugust 24,2023 at 4:39PM UTC
Happens all the time. Now that they have your contact information you will be hounded with the most random "jobs"
AnonymousAugust 24,2023 at 4:46PM UTC
Very prevalent. Your gut knows!!
Block her
Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistAugust 25,2023 at 5:38AM UTC
I'm going to assume it's a fake job because it sounds like a fake recruiting company!
I don't give a crap how small the company is, if I was setting up a recruiting company, literally the first thing I would do after thinking up a name would be to get the website set up. It would literally be the backbone of the business.
I would run as far and as fast as I could from these folks. Was their initial reach out to you by text by any chance?
AnonymousAugust 25,2023 at 12:54PM UTC
There was a posted job on LinkedIn, and I applied.
She responded immediately, as I stated. That to me was a red flag. Makes me so angry because there are others out there who may not know the signs, I wish there was something I could do. Maybe I should make a post on LinkedIn letting others know what red flags for which to watch.
AnonymousAugust 25,2023 at 12:32PM UTC
I tried applying to jobs on LinkedIn, I found them FULL of scams. Some just straight up, other are pyramid schemes that didn't reveal themselves until you got into a zoom call and there was 50+ other people there. I gave up on LinkedIn very quickly.
AnonymousAugust 25,2023 at 1:31PM UTC
This one definitely sounds fake but I found my current job on LinkedIn and it's been great. So I wouldn't give up on LinkedIn entirely, we use it all the time to find employees.
Balanced372207August 27,2023 at 4:17PM UTC
Linked in is phony
Shazza GilbertAugust 26,2023 at 3:21PM UTC
My company has had several people contact us about job scams from Linked In. LI is beginning to catch on but not nearly quick enough. Contact them if you think you might be caught by a scam. Also, contact the company directly if you suspect it might be a scam.
AnonymousAugust 26,2023 at 3:57PM UTC
Report this to linkedin, let them know your concerns. I often coach folks to set up a completely separate email for their job search and use a google voice or other relay number that you can block folks with should they start to stalk or harass you.
As for this particular one, ask her for the headquarters location of the business and a business license or number. If she cannot provide that for you then walk away.
misskelleypAugust 26,2023 at 5:04PM UTC
Don't give personal information out (SSN, banking info) unless you have ROCK SOLID verification that the company and job are real!
AnonymousAugust 26,2023 at 9:35PM UTC
Don't give out any information until you've interviewed and information is required for a background check or there's a written offer in your inbox.
AnonymousAugust 26,2023 at 7:27PM UTC
It happens often, especially after you update your profile on a job site like LinkedIn or Indeed. I constantly get calls or emails from "recruiters" telling me how impressed they are with my "qualifications" and have openings in an area I'm not even looking into or have any experience in. Once, I tried to ask questions when they called, and it flustered the caller because I had taken her "off script." I asked, "What part of my experience makes me a good candidate for the position you are discussing, especially when I have no experience selling insurance?" When this happens, I usually can't hang up fast enough.
AnonymousAugust 27,2023 at 1:06PM UTC
Yes, stick with your gut. You’ll get better at identifying which job posts are fake or low quality. List of actions you can take/choose from BEFORE you apply:
-Do a Google search for the website. I don’t apply to companies I’ve never heard of and cannot easily verify as real/reputable. There are enough larger, well-known recruiting firms out there, why bother with one that can’t be verified? Also, I don’t bother with companies who don’t have a website or have websites that look like no one spent time on it.
-Check Google for any news/old mentions of the company in the Google search results (look past the first page).
-Does the company have a LinkedIn page? Do you see a CEO or CFO listed in the employees? Google one of them for any mentions.
-Is the company mentioned on Glassdoor?
The point is to do a QUICK sense check before you apply. It doesn’t take long. And, NEVER, NEVER, provide any part of your DOB or SSN to anyone unless it’s for a background check for a job you have interviewed for and have received an offer that you want to accept.
Shelby CAugust 27,2023 at 7:08PM UTC
Stick with your gut. They're becoming worse all the time. They're even pretending to be legitimate companies.
AnonymousAugust 28,2023 at 5:21AM UTC
That happened to me to twice. I didn't even apply for a job but updated resume on Linkedin. A recruiter called and asked me for my resume, I was hesitant because I could not find the recruiters name or company on Linkedin. My gut was saying heck no. She was from another country and super nice but I could not risk. They act so slick... another trick is when they ask for the last 4-digits of you social security number.