THE FBI is warning all job seekers to watch out for fake online adverts.
Scammers have been spotted posting fake job ads on recruitments websites with the aim of stealing money and data.
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The FBI said: “The FBI warns that malicious actors or ‘scammers’ continue to exploit security weaknesses on job recruitment websites to post fraudulent job postings in order to trick applicants into providing personal information or money.”
It made the statement as a public service announcement on the Bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The statement continued: “These scammers lend credibility to their scheme by using legitimate information to imitate businesses, threatening reputational harm for the business and financial loss for the job seeker.”
The average reported loss to these scams is almost $3,000 (£2,212) per victim.
It can also negatively impact a victim’s credit score as well as their mental health.
Cyber criminals are said to be taking advantage of a lack of solid security verification on recruitment websites.
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This means scammers can easily impersonate legitimate companies and post convincing job adverts.
LinkedIn is just one popular recruitment site that’s been blasted in the past for allowing almost anyone to create job listings on behalf of most companies.
The FBI said: “Fraudulent job listings include links and contact information that direct applicants to spoofed websites, email addresses, and phone numbers controlled by the scammers where the applicant’s personal information can be stolen and then sold or used in additional scams.”
It thinks the Covid-19 pandemic has made the issue worse as more people search for jobs online and more interviews take place virtually.
How to protect yourself
It’s a good idea to apply for jobs through a company’s official website.
You may see a job advertised on a recruitment website but you can search for the company’s official page and find its careers section yourself.
This way you can avoid being sent to a fake website link.
You can also reach out to a company’s HR department to check the legitimacy of an ad.
The FBI has warned people to be particularly wary of job adverts that ask employees to purchase start-up equipment from the company.
You should also check the legitimacy of any email addresses you are encouraged to send information to and check whether they’re associated with a company or official recruiter.
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In other news, this week marks the anniversary of the first chimpanzee in space.
Nasa has revealed stunning footage of a solar flare in action.
And, the US space agency is planning for a ‘golden asteroid’ probing mission to launch this summer.
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