Online job searching? Fake posts look to prey on unsuspecting job seekers, expert warns

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Thousands of soon-to-be college graduates in the Tri-State will be entering the job market, but before hitting “apply” online, they need to be cautious, a tech expert warns.

Fake job posts are popping up on legitimate sites and unsuspecting job seekers, like Sydney Bellm, are the intended targets.

It has been less than five months since Bellm walked across the stage to receive her diploma from Northern Kentucky University.

After graduation, she was hoping to find a career opportunity that would put her journalism degree to good use.

“I was interested in being like a photo editor or photo retoucher or a photographer,” Bellm explained.

So, like most modern-day job hunters she turned to online job sites for help and applied to more than 50 different positions.

All of them led to dead ends until she stumbled upon a posting for a “remote photo retoucher” with a beauty company.

The job details were exactly what Bellm said she was looking for and she applied for the position on LinkedIn.

Bellm says the company contacted her, she did an interview, and was ultimately offered the position.

Things were finally looking up but that was all short-lived.

As she was moving through the hiring process, Bellm started to feel like something may be off.

“Uhm, the part that raised the red flag for me was they had basically onboarded me,” Bellm said. “I sent them all of the paperwork.”

That paperwork included personal information like copies of her driver’s license and bank routing information all under the guise of setting up direct deposit for future paychecks.

That is not all the so-called beauty company wanted.

“They wanted me to buy company equipment like a computer and the whole nine yards and they were like, ‘We’re going to send you a check,’ and they wanted me to mobile deposit the check,” Bellm explained. “Essentially, the scam is they want you to deposit the check, send them the remaining money, then the check bounces because it’s fake and you’re responsible for any money and all the repercussions from the bank.”

Immediately, Bellm called her bank and closed her account.

Although there was no financial damage, she says it’s taken an emotional toll.

FOX19 NOW tech expert Dave Hatter says Bellm is not alone.

He says people looking for work are easy targets for bad actors.

“You’re potentially preying on people who are already in a bad situation and now you’re making their lives a whole lot more difficult,” Hatter said. “Whether it’s stealing their money or stealing their information, you’re just kind of a despicable piece of scum.”

Hater’s advice: Do your homework.

He recommends job seekers should cross reference any phone numbers and contact names with information from the company’s official homepage.

Sites like LinkedIn and Monster also have pages full of information to help you weed out potentially fake job postings.

In Bellm’s case, she says did the research, but it wasn’t enough.

“I’m a very cautious person and they still got me,” Bellm said.

Moving forward, she plans to only apply for jobs directly through company websites.

A lesson learned the hard way that she’s hoping others can avoid as they start their careers.

“It was awful,” Bellm described. “I mean, why prey on an innocent person just innocently trying to work? Just blows my mind and I don’t understand.”

If you are on one of these sites and spot a suspicious job posting you think may be fake, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

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