How ideal would it be to receive an email with a lucrative job offer without having to go through the trouble of searching, applying, interviewing, and negotiating? This is sadly not realistic and if you receive such email then it is most likely going to be a scam.
Internet scams are becoming more and more creative every day. Many scammers today impersonate recruiters or HR managers and send you phishing emails in the form of job offers; they will contact you offering a job opportunity in order to acquire your personal information and bank account details. Some scammers will even illegally utilize legitimate job boards and sites to find their victims.
Here is how to identify and avoid a fake job offer, according to the experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East's #1 job site:
1. Did the job offer come out of the blue?
Did you receive a job offer even though you don't remember ever applying? Or did you receive a phone call promising you a huge salary to work part-time from home? Did they say they found your CV on a job site that you've never posted your information on before? These are all red flags to watch out for. Reputable companies will always have a process for hiring.
Hiring is not instantaneous, or random, no matter how impressive your CV is. Most importantly, legitimate companies will always absorb the costs of hiring and will never ask you to pay hiring fees.
2. Does the company really exist?
Do your research when you receive a job offer. Check if the company has a website and contact details. If there is no website or, at the very least, a social media page, be very cautious. If you do, in fact, find a website, then compare the contact details displayed to the ones they provided you with in the offer letter. You can also do a quick web search to see if the company has been reported by other job seekers.
3. Did the job offer come from a personal email address?
Reputable organizations and businesses will have corporate email addresses. If the email comes from a free domain such as Yahoo or Hotmail, make sure you do additional research before proceeding. Sometimes, a scam email may appear to have a company domain but on a second look, you will find some minor differences. For example, you might see an email coming from "...@srz-design.org" instead of "...@srzdesign.org". If you sense that the address may be fake, you can always contact the company by phone and verify.
4. Is the email soliciting confidential or bank information?
Some scammers may ask for personal and bank account details in order to set up a direct deposit. Stay away from anything of that sort. Always avoid entering personal information online and definitely don't give access to your bank information. Direct deposit information is usually one of the last steps of hiring and occurs after you have met with at least one person from the company. You can check how secure the company website is by checking the address bar. Always make sure it is "https://" not "http://", when entering sensitive material.
5. Is it a professional email?
Is the email well written? Are there any grammar and spelling mistakes? Is there a company signature at the bottom of the email? Is the job description clear and professional? Does it state what experience or skills it requires? Ensure that all the usual requirements are present in the job description, whether you received it in an email or found it on a job site or through social media.
Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 26,250,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.
- Bayt.com weekly report