How to Spot a Remote Job Scam

With the rise of people searching for remote jobs, scammers have taken the opportunity to mimic legitimate companies in an attempt to prey on job seekers. Spotting these red flags early on will help protect your data and money safe.

1. They want to interview over messaging apps.
   If you apply to a job, and a recruiter wants to interview you over messaging apps, like telegram or WhatsApp, stop right there! A legitimate company will never interview or hire you over a message. Instead, you will do an interview over Microsoft teams, Zoom, Google Meet, or a standard phone interview.
2. An instant offer letter
   If you receive a formal job offer without an interview, or 30 minutes after submitting your application, this is a major red flag! Legitimate hiring processes take time, usually involving multiple steps, several interviews, and speaking with several people.
3. Purchasing your own equipment
   This is a very common WFH scam. An employer will "hire" you and send you a check to purchase all of your equipment that you will need to work from them.
   They will tell you to deposit it and send part of it to an approved vendor, and then a few days later you find out that the check bounces, and you have to recoup all of the funds, and they keep what you sent to the fake vendor.
   Any legitimate work from home company will send you your equipment! They will ship it directly to you, and you will not have to purchase any of it.
4. Asking for sensitive information before an offer
   If an application or recruiter is asking you for sensitive information before being hired, like your social security number, banking details, or a copy of your ID, stop! A real employer will need this information, after you have been hired and are being onboarded. A scammer just wants the ability to steal your identity.
5. Too good to be true pay
   If you see a job claiming they will pay you $50 an hour for data entry, or $1000 a week for 5 hours of work, RUN! In reality, you are not going to find work that really pays that way. If the pay seems to good to be true, trust your gut, and look at what a legitimate company pays for that sort of work.
6. Suspicious email domains
   Please look closely at who is emailing you! Real recruiters will send emails from official domains, like [email protected]. They also won't use hyphenated emails like [email protected]. If you receive an email from [email protected], or a domain error name, like [email protected], it is fake. Always verify where your emails are coming from.