Spotlight for Career Services Professionals

An career services professional recently alerted members of the NACE Community to someone posing as a legitimate company advertising to fill a position. When students applied, however, that company would then send them a package asking them to deposit and withdraw money.

One member advised the group that some fraudulent employers were cloning websites of legitimate organizations and using similar e-mail addresses and URLs to fool would-be applicants. He advised verifying employers before allowing them to post jobs. Doing so saves staff time, he said, because they no longer have to inactivate postings or employer accounts, block IP addresses, or notify those who had applied for nonexistent jobs.

Another member recommended the following signs to “red flag” a job posting:

• Job title: “Business analyst” is one that shows up frequently in fraudulent postings.
• Perpetrators select multiple position types.
• The GPA the “organization” requires is very low.
• Jobs are listed as nationwide.
• The “organization” offers a high hourly rate or salary.
• The job is open to all regardless of work authorization, class level, degree level, and/or major.
• It uses an e-mail address or website that may look legitimate, but differs slightly from the real organization’s e-mail address and/or website.

The NACE Community shares issues and tips for career services and recruiting professionals.