Desperate college grads are falling victims to scammers promising jobs

30/04/2024

Scammers are targeting recent college grads looking for jobs
The issues has grown so much that the feds issued a warning about the scam
Numerous people have posted online about falling victim to scams

Desperate college students entering the workforce are the newest scam victims with fake job recruiters promising lucrative careers duping them.

The newest trick involves scammers reaching out to job seekers with promises of high-paying work. The scams even pretend to be professors or have a connection to the university, authorities warn.

They then trick the student to accepting a check, which bounces, but not before the fraudsters have access to the victim’s bank account allowing them to make off with their money.

‘I feel embarrassed,’ TikToker, D. Cain said in a video detailing how he fell victim. ‘It happened to me. It could happen to you.’

microsoft, desperate college grads are falling victims to scammers promising jobs

Desperate college students entering the workforce are the newest scam victims with fake job recruiters promising lucrative careers duping them. The scam has grown so much numerous videos on social media discuss the problem or detail how they fell victim

The scams have become so common that the Federal Trade Commission has published warnings about them.

In its statement, the FTC noted that scammers ‘might send emails that look like they’re from someone in your community, like a professor or an office at your college.’

The FTC went on to outline how the swindle worked: ‘If you apply, they’ll mail you a check to deposit at your bank. Then they’ll ask you to send some of the money to another account.

‘They tell you a convincing story, but the check is fake and the whole thing is a scam. The check will eventually bounce and the bank will want you to repay the money you withdrew. Meanwhile, the scammer will have walked away with the money you sent them.’

The FTC’s dire account of the scam echoes the experiences of many college students and graduates who have been successfully tricked by the fake recruiters.

Cody Querubin, a senior at George Mason University, received an email in his student account in February regarding a data-analyst internship.

The sender’s address was [email protected]. There is a legitimate company name Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions, whom the scammers intended to impersonate.

After expressing interest, Querubin participated in an interview hosted in Microsoft Teams. But he didn’t see the recruiters face and the interview happened by chat -something, in retrospect, that Querubin acknowledges to be a red flag.

Recent college graduates are desperate for jobs, making them especially susceptible targets of scams

As the job market tightens- it’s already tougher than last year’s – new college graduates desperate for work and consequently lower their guards

Upon completion of the interview, the college senior was offered a remote job, and he was sent a check to pay for a work laptop and company software.

The following day, he was instructed to send the money to a vendor via Apple Pay or Zelle. Realizing there was something off, Queubin alerted his bank, but it was too late. The check had bounced, and he lost $1,745.

‘I was really frustrated and just angry,’ Querubin told the Wall Street Journal.

Erin McGoff, a popular TikToker, posted a video on her account to raise awareness about the ubiquity of job-recruiting scams.

In the video, McGoff smiles while words appear on the screen that say: ‘A recruiter reaches out about a job, yay!’

The text then says: ‘They say you don’t need to interview, they already want to hire you.’

The final block of text reads: ‘The company has no website, asks for personal information, and to cash a check they’re sending you.’

She looks at the camera with a bemused expression.

The TikTok is captioned: ‘SCAM. There are so, so many scams right now. Be vigilant.’

‘I feel embarrassed,’ TikToker, D. Cain said in a video detailing how he fell victim. ‘It happened to me. It could happen to you’

In 2017, the FBI issued a warning, telling young applicants to be wary when it comes to opportunities that exaggerate claims of possible earnings or profit

Recent college graduates are desperate for jobs, making them especially susceptible targets of scams.

They are also extremely comfortable conducting their lives online, and they are comparatively inexperienced when it comes to the job market.

As the job market tightens- it’s already tougher than last year’s – new college graduates desperate for work and consequently lower their guards.

The number of job recruiting scams reached new height last summer, but they have continued to proliferate.

For years, federal investigators have been urging the public to be circumspect when it comes to applying to jobs online.

In 2017, the FBI issued a warning, telling young applicants to be wary when it comes to opportunities that exaggerate claims of possible earnings or profit. Many colleges across the nation have also alerted their grads about the scams with webpages detailing how it works and how to avoid falling victim.

‘If you are asked to use your own money to get a job, it is very likely a scam,’ the University of Washington told its students.

‘Please note that these scams are carried out using various forms of communication, including texts, phone calls, email, including UW email accounts, and social media messages.’

‘Never’ do these to avoid failing victim to a job recruitment scam

Give out personal information like your social security, credit card, or bank account number over email or phone.

Take cashier’s checks or money orders as a form of payment. Fake checks are common and the bank where you cash it will hold you accountable.

Cash a check that comes with ‘extra’ money. Scammers send checks that require you to deposit a check at your bank, withdraw the “extra” money as cash, and then deposit that cash elsewhere. The check will bounce and you will be held accountable.