Other LanguagesWashington residents have been victims of fake job offers and computer malware
SEATTLE – Unemployed workers in Washington and the rest of the country are targets for crooks posing as headhunters, Attorney General Rob McKenna warned today. Scams include bogus job offers and realistic-looking e-mail messages that contain links to computer viruses or phishing sites.
REPORTER: Why has the Attorney General’s Office issued this warning? What threats are you seeing now?
MCKENNA:Jobseekscam1 (13 seconds)
Well, unfortunately, scammers are increasingly targeting job seekers. You know, no matter how badly you need a job, you really have to be careful about posting your resume online when you’re responding to potential employers. The cons are becoming craftier.
REPORTER: What precautions should job seekers take so that they don’t get scammed?
MCKENNA:Jobseekscam2 (9 seconds)
Well, first of all, avoid any job that demands that you pay money upfront. And never, ever send money by Western Union or Moneygram to someone you don’t know.
REPORTER: What about protecting your information on Internet job sites?
MCKENNA:Jobseekscam3 (20 seconds)
You need to be careful when you post your resume online. Take advantage of the tools that allow you to hide your personal contact information. You should obviously never include your Social Security number, your driver’s license number or your birth date in an online resume or share that information with anyone until you’ve confirmed that the prospective employer and the job offer are actually genuine.
REPORTER: How do you figure out if e-mailed job offers are legitimate?
MCKENNA:Jobseekscam4 (31 seconds)
When you receive an e-mail job offer , if it has a link in it, don’t click on it because the link could be to a spoofed Web site that might look just like the legitimate employer’s Web site but really isn’t. Secondly, watch out for anyone claiming to be an employer who uses a common e-mail account like Hotmail or Yahoo, Gmail. Most big employers are going to have their own domain names like XYZcompany.com. You should also be suspicious if the only phone number they give you always goes to voicemail or if the only available contact address is a P.O. box.
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Contact: Kristin Alexander, Media Relations Manager – Seattle, (206) 464-6432, kalexander@atg.wa.gov