ROCHESTER, N.Y. – I recently got a text message from a “company” saying I had been recommended by multiple online recruitment agencies and they wanted to offer me a job. Flexible hours, free training, paid vacation. Sounds wonderful. But is it a real job offer?
The text claimed to be from a recruiter at Qualtrics, a U.S. based market research company. Its website boasts more than 18,000 well-known brands as customers with offices around the world.
But be careful if you receive this text message. In the message, they said I had been recommended and they wanted to offer me a job, I could make $500 a day working remotely for just 60 to 90 minutes daily.
I reached out to the firm and a spokesperson confirmed, the “text is not an authentic communication from Qualtrics.” They even have a fraud page on their website to warn against such recruitment scams.
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“These are financially motivated, very professional, very well organized, criminal gangs,” said James Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit organization that offers free assistance to fraud victims.
New research from the ITRC finds 10% of all scam reports they see right now are related to some kind of job fraud.
“They’re looking for individuals who are basically looking for a side hustle or for primary employment and in an uncertain economic environment like we’re in right now, it’s attractive to a lot of people. And they know it,” Lee said.
Lee says what they’re looking for is your personal information that they can turn around and sell or information they can use to impersonate you for some financial benefit.
Brett Davidsen: “Does it surprise you that people fall for these?”
Lee: “Yes and no. Because they have become so much more sophisticated than they ever have been, it’s very difficult for even professionals who do this for a living, who look for cyber crime, who look for fraud, it’s difficult for us to define some of these newer pitches.”
Job recruitment text schemes are on the rise, and they’re getting more sophisticated. So don’t be fooled. On whether this job offer is real. That is false.
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Of course, there are clues you can look for. First, check the number or address it came from. Often times, the scam texts will show a different country code. Also, look for how the text is worded. Does it sound like something a legit company would put in a message?
If you’re still not sure, go to the company’s website and reach out directly about what jobs they have available. Finally, if you get one of these scam texts, report it as “junk” to your provider. You’ll see how to do that right at the bottom of the message you received.
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