I have a confession to make: I’ve been a victim of not one, not two, but *multiple* job search scams — one of which almost cost me $2,500.
I have no problem admitting I’m a very gullible person and I can be easily persuaded at times. Not so much in the “I’ll bungee jump off of a bridge with you” sense, but more so that it doesn’t take much to convince me that people are who they say they are. Combining my trusting nature with the sense of desperation that comes with being out of a job, I was the perfect target for a job scam. Luckily, I lived to tell the tale, and I hope my experience will help others catch on to these predatory scammers much earlier than I did.
In March 2022, I was a few months into unemployment and was desperately trying to get hired — anywhere. I was applying to jobs like it was… well, my full-time job. I would wake up at 9 a.m. and fill out one job application after another until 5 p.m. or later, scrolling through postings on LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed for anything I was remotely qualified for. I had applied to over 100 job listings when I finally heard back from one that sounded pretty promising — until it wasn’t.
The job was for a full-time proofreader for a California-based apparel brand. A day or two after applying on Indeed, I received an email asking if I would be interested in interviewing for the position. Of course, I was elated because the company was fully remote, offered a competitive salary, and had a ton of great benefits like fully covered healthcare and a home office stipend. I definitely should have questioned why the email came from this company’s “project manager” instead of someone in HR, but I was too excited to care.
I questioned how quickly this was all happening, but my reservations were overshadowed with excitement that I had finally landed a job.
But then the red flags started flying. Instead of interviewing me over the phone or in person, the project manager asked me questions via a Skype DM — and not your typical “getting to know you” interview questions, but more along the lines of, “Are you able to work after hours?” and “Is a pay of $80 per hour good with you?” I immediately thought “Huh, this is pretty weird,” but quickly brushed it off — I mean, $80 an hour was definitely good with me.
The next day, the project manager offered me the position. I questioned how quickly this was all happening, but my reservations were overshadowed with excitement that I had finally landed a job. After months of not working and living off of the little bit of money I had saved, I could relax knowing I would soon re-enter the workforce. But then it all came crashing down when the project manager asked for my address so they could send me a check to purchase my own work equipment — a laptop, an iPhone, and an HP printer.
This is when the sirens started going off in my head. This was the first time a “job” had asked me to purchase work equipment… and not to mention, they wanted me to do so in a way that felt so sus. They basically sent me a screenshot of a $2,500 check, which they wanted me to print out and deposit into my bank account. I immediately got a sinking feeling in my stomach and told the project manager I wasn’t comfortable with this, which they said wasn’t a problem — I could just purchase the equipment with my own money and the company would reimburse me. Um, excuse me?!
By this point, I had a major bad feeling about this job, and my partner immediately confirmed my rising suspicions that this was all a scam. I politely declined the offer, explaining that I had come across another opportunity (because I didn’t want them to know I’d caught onto them) and never heard from them again.
I’ll admit, this was a pretty convincing scam that had me thinking I must be dense to not have spotted the red flags earlier. I’m an intelligent and rational person, but this experience made me realize that this is probably something that happens to a lot of people, no matter how smart you are. While doing a quick search on TikTok, I found that many others were almost — or actually were — scammed out of money in similar scams.
In reality, no matter someone’s educational background or how informed they think they are, a lot of people find themselves victims of job scams every day. According to the Better Business Bureau, about 14 million people are exposed to employment scams every year, with billions of dollars in direct losses reported annually. These job scams are major operations and it feels like they’re getting more believable as the years go on. But why is this?
I have some theories: With the current unemployment rate at 3.8%, more than 6 million people in the U.S. are without jobs, causing job-related competitiveness and despair to rise. And let’s not forget, the cost of living has increased drastically. Meanwhile, technology is advancing at such a pace that it’s becoming exponentially easier for scammers to appear legit.
It’s not like colleges are out here teaching mandatory courses on how to spot these kinds of scams.
Taking all of this into account, it’s understandable why more job seekers, especially young people, are susceptible to falling for a job scam. It’s not like colleges are out here teaching mandatory courses on how to spot these kinds of scams. (Although maybe they should, considering Her Campus’s 2024 graduation survey revealed 56% of Gen Zers said they did not feel their schools prepared them for the job search.)
Since my experience, I’ve learned just how common job scams are and why so many people are falling for them. With this in mind, I’m no longer ashamed and embarrassed that I didn’t see the red flags earlier. You could be the most alert person in the world, but when you’re desperately seeking a job, it’s easy to overlook red flags when a promising offer finally materializes.
So, if you’ve almost fallen victim — or if you actually fell victim — to a job scam, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, learn from it so that you can spot those red flags if another job scam comes your way, and help others by spreading the word. And if you’re having trouble figuring out what red flags to look for, there are plenty of videos on TikTok that can help. A lot of creators urge followers to look out for early warning signs of a job scam, like a weird-looking email address, requests to do a text interview (instead of a phone, video, or in-person one), and of course, directives to purchase your own equipment (often with a bogus check).
But my biggest advice as a job scam survivor is to stay alert: If it feels sketchy, it probably is, bestie.