More than ever before, Americans are comfortable with the Work from Home (WFH) model of working. Although most U.S. workers (60%) do not have jobs that can be done from home, those who can work from home report being happier that way (88%). Additionally, according to Gallup, 91% of U.S. workers who transitioned to remote work hope that their ability to work at home persists. This trend extends beyond the U.S. In a survey of 15,000 respondents across 80 countries, 75% believe that remote work is the new norm. Scammers have also taken advantage of this new appetite to work from home by infiltrating job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn. Below, we outline six ways to tell if the job is “too good to be true” – a scam.
Research the company
The company that you applied for should have a website and social media presence (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). If you can’t find any information about the company online or if their website is incredibly vague, you should be skeptical. Search results may also show you that other people have experienced this scam.
Suspicious email address and profile
A recruiter or hiring manager should always be communicating with you via their company’s email account, never their personal Gmail or text message. This also goes for jobs that you connect to through social media. Check the company’s profile first before responding.
The employer is overly eager to hire
Another warning sign of a WFH scam is when an employer wants to urgently hire you. If they are willing to hire you on the spot or require little credentials for high-level work, you should be skeptical.
The employer communicates poorly
Employers should seem professional and well-spoken. If in their communication to you there are misspelled words or bad punctuation, there’s a good chance it’s a scam.
Requests for Personal Information
Be aware that bank account information, SSN, and other personal information is only generally requested after you are hired – not during the interview process.
They ask you to pay for anything
If the employer asks you to pay for materials, training, or testing, the job is probably a scam. Often scammers send victims a fake check and ask them to pay for something or claim that they need to send some back because of an error. Scammers are able to then steal months by cashing in victims’ valid checks or payments before the fake check bounces.