Surprisingly, Scammers Will Leverage Who You Know Against You

SurSuprisingly, Scammers Will Leverage Who You Know Against You by Mark Anthony Dyson

Scammers vary their online attacks and schemes to access your data. One such scheme, known as ‘jobfishing,’ is a form of catfishing in which scammers use fake job postings to lure unsuspecting victims. This is why I created “The Job Scam Report!” 

They may use various platforms, including social media sites like LinkedIn or text messaging. There are few places online today where you can relax without remaining vigilant of scammers that masquerade as answers to your problems. As we do everything on my blog, this discussion is about jobs.

For this article, I will focus on text messages because of a recent attempt to scam me using a company I’ve worked with to lure me into a scheme. My clients are usually job sites or companies who hire me to produce job search, career, or workplace content for them.

I was recently sent a text by a scammer who pretended to be the company’s founder and texted me first to verify the number was associated with me. I thought this was plausible, but I was miffed they wanted to text me when, in the past, we communicated via email or Zoom. They tried to get your boy (me) but to no avail. They failed this time. I am self-aware enough to know I’ll be tested occasionally.

“I’m currently in a conference call meeting and need you to complete a quick task. Are you available?”

I responded, “I can be in 10 minutes.”

This was a mistake, but the more I communicated with the scammer, the more I realized it wasn’t the founder because of the request. I also confirmed it was my number (which I had never done before), and it could open me up for future scams (even if I block the number).

They directed me like an employee:

“I need you to provide a client with some gift cards for e-thank cards. Can you confirm if you can get Apple gift cards from Target, Best Buy, Walmart, Walgreens, 7-11, CVS, or any local grocery store nearby?” This is a common scam tactic where the scammer asks the victim to purchase gift cards, usually for popular retailers like Apple, and provide the card details to them. The scammer then uses these gift cards for their purchases, leaving the victim with a loss.

My thoughts were:

Wait, I’m not an employee. But, the request was completely uncharacteristic of the individual.

I sent a message to the actual person via LinkedIn and emailed an employee, asking them to authenticate the message. I never responded to the scammer again, but the founder and employee confirmed it was not the founder.

I suspect most people received at least one text prompting a potential victim to check out an opportunity. Here are a few of the ways scammers are using text to tempt you to buy into their scam job offer:

1. Jobfishing (catfish for jobs or even phishing).

Scammers know they can get personal data this way, and cell phone numbers are easy to obtain. They masquerade as a company, and its victims are intrigued enough to apply and give some personal data. You’ll almost always get a fake job offer.

2. Payment scams.

The fake company will want you to purchase equipment with one of their counterfeit checks. They get job seekers to play the “transfer fund” game, which gives them access to personal account information, social security numbers, and other financial assets.

3. Training or certification scams.

We see many of these on LinkedIn where someone claims to have a certification from somewhere that needs to be accredited. People have a right to create their school of thought. There’s a grey line between a popular industry in an unregulated space and someone who claims success in the same industry.

What do you see in the methodology, published work in credible publications and organizations, and results from their collective clients as validation? Anybody who applies the same methods with a portion of the best practices achieves the desired result.  

4. Premium services.

Resume writing, interview coaching, or exclusive job listings are a slippery slope. While legitimate services exist, scammers often overcharge or provide poor-quality services that need to meet expectations.

When someone with deep knowledge solves complex problems, people can demand higher costs. It is credible if someone does it and has a team behind them with more knowledge and experience. The problem is with the unsolved problem they claim the ability to solve. If people are publishing proof, you can verify and vet them. If not, pass. 

Scams are typical, but their delivery and sophistication take victims for a ride. If you haven’t already, I have a checklist you should see on “The Job Scam Report” on Substack. Go and subscribe so you can keep up with the quickly changing schemes dominating our timelines and news.