A request for payment, a proposal that is too tempting, the request for personal and banking information and even the offer of an unpaid trial period are some of the
most suspicious items that characterize a false job offer.
Regarding these alarm signals, Andrea Ávila, CEO of the Human Resources consultancy Randstad for Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, points out: “In a context of growing virtuality and digitalization of many transactions, exchanges and activities,
cyber scams and information theft and personal data have become common currency.
Because of what work means in people's lives,
false job offers are increasingly common
among the social engineering tactics that criminals use to gain the trust of potential victims they seek to deceive.
In this context, Randstad's talent management experts identified six indicators that should draw attention and that indicate that a job offer could be false:
1.
They ask for a payment for management or documentation expenses
.
It is very important to know that all the expenses of a selection process must be borne by the company or Human Resources consultancy that carries it out.
If they are asking you for money, you are most likely facing a false job offer.
2.
The proposal is too tempting.
If a job offer offers a remuneration that is too high or significantly higher than what is usually paid in the market, and without requiring specialized knowledge or experience in the position, it is most likely a scam.
3.
They request personal data at the beginning of the process
.
If the company in question requests sensitive personal data at the beginning of the selection process or banking information or keys of any type, it is surely a fraudulent personal data collection operation and not a personnel selection process.
4.
Lack of information.
In a job search process, you should always investigate the company you want to apply to.
If the company does not have a website, an email with its own domain, a profile on social networks, does not provide detailed information about the position offered and does not have a history of activity in Google searches, it is an alarm signal that would indicate that it is of a scam.
5.
Spelling and communication.
Every serious company takes care of its image, so the form of contact and communication will be very careful, with impeccable grammar and spelling.
If there are many errors in an advertisement, it is very likely that it is a false job offer.
6.
Unpaid trial period.
If the company indicates that you must work for a period of time without receiving compensation in return, it is undoubtedly a fraudulent job offer.
“Fraudulent job offers not only represent a great disappointment for those who are actively looking for work, but they
can generate an even bigger problem
, such as a scam and the theft of personal data that in turn can lead to the theft of identity, financial fraud or online harassment,” Ávila warned.
NE