As you begin to apply for jobs on Handshake and on external job platforms, it is important to learn how to spot fraudulent jobs. Even with strict vetting processes, scammers are getting trickier with how they go about scamming job applicants.
#1 Learn to Spot Red Flags
Students should be cautious of employers who request personal information upfront, ask for money, or offer high pay for minimal work with vague job descriptions. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Things to look out for:
- Employers requesting any financial information (credit card, bank account numbers, etc.) or asking for money to move your application process along. Never give out financial information at any point during your job search and hiring process.
- Employers that only conduct interviews through online chat or over the phone. It is important that you are able to meet with them in-person or through video chat.
- Unsolicited emails from employers. If you get an email from an employer you have not personally applied to, this is a red flag. Spammers/scammers can obtain student emails fairly easily. If the unsolicited email references a referral from your career center, contact your career center to verify the employer.
- Employers that make a job offer almost immediately after the interview.
TIP: Visit our website to read about additional red flags and tips on how to avoid fraudulent jobs.
Tip #2 Do Your Research
Not sure whether to trust a job posting? There are several steps you can take to verify if the job is legitimate.
- Cross-reference a job posting you find on a job platform with the organization’s official careers website.
- Ensure any contact email address within the job posting or any correspondence you get from an organization contains the email domain belonging to the company (ex. usc.edu). Be wary of emails like @live.com, @gmail.com, @yahoo.com or any @ that is not affiliated with the organization. You can verify that the email address matches what is found on the organization’s website.
- Watch for anonymity. If it is difficult to find an address, actual contact, organization name, etc., proceed with caution. Scammers will try to keep themselves well hidden.
- Use social media to research each employer, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. Research the organization on websites such as Glassdoor for feedback and complaints.
TIP: Need assistance with determining if a job is legitimate? Call us at (213) 740-9105 or email the Employer Engagement Team. We are here to help guide you through the process.
Tip #3: Learn How to Report Fraudulent Jobs
Have you spotted a fraudulent job you’d like to report? There are several ways to report a job you think is questionable. Your reporting helps keep the USC student community alert and vigilant.
- Report on Handshake → If the job you are looking at is on Handshake, you can go to the job posting and click the three dots menu, located to the right of the Apply button, → then click the Flag or report employer button. This will open a report and the Handshake Safety team will launch an investigation.
- External Jobs → You can report a fraudulent job directly to the USC Career Center by submitting a response through our Report a Fraudulent Job/Internship Posting form.
- Reporting Questionable Emails → If you receive any suspicious job information via email, you can report these emails directly to USC’s ITS security team. Learn how to forward questionable emails by visiting the How-to: Reporting Phishing webpage.
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