Scammers are out there – whether it's pretending to be your bank, your neighbor – or a potential employer. And these scammers all have some of the same things in common which is what we want to share with you today. It's also Internet Safety Month so we're here to protect you from those cyber criminals with 3 alerts to help keep you safe in our digital world. 
  
So much pressure!
Scammers prey on people in a vulnerable moment (like knowing people want to get a job to earn a living for their families!), hoping to create a false sense of urgency to spur you on to act. In the case of employment, they will message over and over on apps like Telegram or Google Hangouts and put pressure on you to respond quickly to the chat and accept the job offer without ever even having a voice conversation with you. 

There's something just a bit...off…
You might not be able to put your finger on it right away…but there's something that's just not sitting right with you. This could be pushy language, it could be rudeness. It could be making you feel just a little uneasy. These bad actors use language to pressure you into providing them access to accounts. They may even say "only answer the question with a yes or no" in an effort to get you to not ask any questions and stick to their script. 

Money, money, money
It's a huge red flag if you're asked to purchase a gift card. And don't be surprised if they ask you for your bank account information so they can “deposit a check” – it's all for fraudulent reasons. They may even try to get into your social accounts to access not only your contact list - but anything connected to financial accounts as well. 

So now you know a few of the signs, what are you to do? If you're suspect you've encountered a fraudster:
  • Step away immediately from the conversation
  • Abandon the process until you've had a chance to investigate and confirm if you want to proceed
  • You're being asked for something that makes you uncomfortable – a legitimate employer will take the time to walk you through the process and will not be rude or pressure you to act (and will not ask you to secure gift cards or deposit checks from strange accounts!)
  • Contact the employer directly from their source of truth – most likely their career website or corporate website. For TTEC, our source of truth is TTECjobs.com
  • Ask a friend or someone you trust to check the communications for signs of a scam – they've got your back!
  • When you take a step back from the conversation, it will give you more clarity to recognize this is indeed a scam 
And of course – remember to trust your gut!

Need to report a potential job scam with TTEC? Report it here. 

Interested in learning more to keep you and your network protected from fraudulent scams? Check out this page on staying safe from job scams.