What to Know About Scams on Job Search Websites
Sites like LinkedIn and Indeed say they are working to combat fraud.
— -- Millions of job seekers use websites such as LinkedIn or Indeed, but some of the so-called employers advertising jobs on the websites may be a scam, according to experts and federal officials.
Sara Wade, of St. Louis, Missouri, said she almost fell victim to one of the scams.
Wade told ABC News she was notified of a job opportunity through LinkedIn that looked legitimate, so she sent her resume to an email address, as instructed. Wade said she was sent a check for $2,400.
“With LinkedIn, I had so much luck finding jobs in the past I didn't suspect this to be a scam at all,” Wade said.
Experts said scammers typically send a job seeker a fake check with along with instructions to send most of the money back in the form of a gift card or wire transfer, calling it a one-time fee.
Since the check is a fake, the job seeker’s money ends up in the hands of the scammer.
“I ended up calling up the bank and they proceeded to let me know that it was fake and to make sure I didn't deposit it,” Wade said of the $2,400 check she says she received.
The Federal Trade Commission has acknowledged that scams like the one that targeted Wade are a problem.
“As technology changes, the way that predators seek people out who are looking for these types of opportunities will change with that technology,” the FTC’s Rhonda Perkins told ABC News.
Another job seeker, Karen Kettering, said she fell victim to a similar scam on the website Indeed.
Kettering told local ABC's Chicago station WLS-TV that she tried to deposit a check from a would-be employer for almost $2,400. When the check bounced, Kettering says $2,000 was sent to the scammer.
“For it to come out fraudulent like this was a real big shock,” Kettering told WLS-TV.
Indeed told ABC News in a statement it has a team focused on preventing scams.
“Working to make sure that search results for job seekers are free of spam, predatory offers and misleading listings is central to Indeed's mission,” Indeed said in its statement. “Because of this, Indeed has an entire team dedicated to the Search Quality effort.”
"This team employs a variety of techniques to review jobs that are presented by employers on Indeed and we do everything we can to determine a job's suitability," Indeed added. "Jobs that we do flag for possible violations of search quality guidelines are held for review before being made visible in search results."
LinkedIn, the website used by Sara Wade, told ABC News that it has “technical measures” in place to try to prevent job scams.
“There are more than 6 million jobs on LinkedIn. Millions of people look for jobs on LinkedIn and are successful in connecting to new opportunities. From our data, we believe that fraudulent jobs make up a tiny fraction of 1 percent of all jobs on LinkedIn,” LinkedIn said in its statement. “We have technical measures in place, that we are constantly improving, to take down these jobs before they even surface to the member. When this type of activity is detected, we work to quickly remove it and prevent future reoccurrences. We have taken action on Sara's issue.”
Related Stories
ABC News Live