During the pandemic, job interviews are being done online via video conferencing.
In Friday’s “Don’t Waste Your Money” segment, abc27 warns job candidates to make sure they know who they’re chatting with.
If job searching is on the agenda during the pandemic, be on the look-out for job scams.
Due to this video-based way of hiring, a surge of job scams has occurred, and one job hunter learned the hard way.
Jordan Dixon was recently laid off from his job as a graphic designer due to the pandemic. So he jumped on LinkedIn, and quickly found a designer job listing at a company called “Miller Paints.”
“It was for a multimedia designer opportunity,” Dixon said.
He applied and was immediately contacted by a recruiter.
“They actually sent me a questionnaire, a 20-question Microsoft Word document that had a lot of in-depth questions,” Dixon recalls.
The next day they told him the position was his if he just sent some personal info, like banking information and his social security number.
But then he noticed the recruiter’s email was misspelled as “Miiler Paint,” with two Is, not “Miller Paint” with two Ls.
So Dixon called and learned the company had no such job opening.
“When I called the lady had no idea this listing was even out there,” Dixon said.
The Better Business Bureau says job scams like this are surging during this pandemic year because many companies have no one in their offices and are doing all their interviewing and hiring online.
Sara Kemerer of the BBB says confirm any opening with the company before giving out personal information.
“When you are looking for a job on those professional websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Monster, go to the company’s official career page on their website and see if the job listing on there matches with what was found on the employment website,” Kemerer said.
Dixon’s hunch was right: abc27 called the real Miller Paints, and they confirmed the LinkedIn job was fraudulent.
LinkedIn says it removes bogus listings as soon as it finds them, but they continue to pop up.
