The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued an alert warning consumers of fake jobs and hiring scams targeting applicants’ personally identifiable information (PII). Cyber criminals posing as legitimate employers spoof company websites and post fake job openings to lure victims. Cyber criminals will conduct fake interviews and even offer positions to victims before requesting PII such as Social Security numbers and bank account information.

FBI alert posted here: https://www.ic3.gov/

TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF

• Conduct a web search of the hiring company using the company name only. Results that return multiple websites for the same company (abccompany.com and abccompanyllc.com) may indicate fraudulent job listings.
• Legitimate companies will ask for PII and bank account information for payroll purposes AFTER hiring employees. This information is safer to give in-person. If in-person contact is not possible, a video call with the potential employer can confirm identity, especially if the company has a directory against which to compare employee photos.
• Never send money to someone you meet online, especially by wire transfer.
• Never provide credit card information to an employer.
• Never provide bank account information to employers without verifying their identity.
• Never share your Social Security number or other PII that can be used to access your accounts with someone who does not need to know this information.
• Before entering PII online, make sure the website is secure by looking at the address bar. The address should begin with “https://”, not “http://”.
  • However: criminals can also use https:// to give victims a false sense of security. A decision to proceed should not be based solely upon the use of “https://”.