Ajob recruitment email was sent out to TJC students on Thursday, Jan. 11. One day later the TJC Office of Technology sent out an email
explaining that the recruitment email was a fraud email. The email was offering a remote research job to students that paid $350 a week. This email is an example of an employment fraud scam.
“An employment fraud threat involves an attempt to recruit someone under the premise of a legitimate job offer. Threat actors will craft fraudulent job offers, hoping to steal money or personal information, or to recruit an individual to unknowingly comply with illegal activities such as money laundering,” said Kaytee Hassell, interim deputy chief information officer, in an email interview. “Threat actors will typically pose as recruiters or employers and try to entice victims with a variety of opportunities. These emails typically appear to come from a legitimate @tjc.,edu or @ email.tjc.edu account, but they are spoofed accounts and do not originate within our email system.”
Moreover, the Federal Trade Commission reported more than 2.8 million fraud reports from consumers in 2021. These losses amounted to more than $5.8 billion. It should be noted that the Federal Trade Commission didn’t specify what kind of fraud reports these were. However, scams have been a prevalent issue in recent years.
There are many types of scams. According to the FTC,
a few examples other than employment fraud are charity scams, gift card scams, grandparent scams and free trial scams. First, a charity scam is when scammers call asking for charitable donations. Next a gift card scam is when a scammer will ask for payment with a gift card. This type
of scam happens because gift cards are harder to trace. A grandparent scam is when a scammer impersonates a family or loved one in distress to receive a payment. Lastly, free- trial scams are when a product is purchased over the phone, a small fee by credit card may be required, which can lead to other charges.
Additionally, the FTC reported Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Z young adults were 34% more likely to report losing money to fraud than older adults. According to ftc. gov, younger adults were over five times more likely to lose money on job scams than older adults.
There are precautions students can take to avoid these email scams.
First, don’t reply to unusual emails about job openings. Most employers post job openings on websites such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor. Hassell mentions to apply through these websites rather than sending personal information through email.
Secondly, Hassell recommends to be suspicious of any employers who don’t give applicants an expected process. A reputable employer will inform an applicant of the interview process.
Third, don’t give any personal information away through emails. Fraudulent emailers may ask for banking information or account information, but a reputable employer won’t ask for this information.
Next, report any suspicious emails to security@tjc.edu. Any emails sent will go to the IT Department, and they will investigate the report.
Lastly, any TJC students who have replied to a fraudulent email and fallen victim to employment fraud or other scams should contact local law enforcement.
