With hundreds of thousands of high school, college and university graduates heading towards a new chapter of their lives, some scammers are eager to take advantage of their lack of real-world experience.
“Last year we saw a 130% increase in how much young adults were losing to employment scams," says Simone Lis, President and CEO of BBB Serving Mainland BC. “As we enter into a post-pandemic summer where employers are eagerly looking for new talent, we encourage recent graduates to ensure they're staying alert as they head into the professional workforce.”
Scammers often offer high-paying, easy, or entry-level jobs when conducting employment scams. They're skilled at drawing people in by promoting unrealistic wages for generalized job positions, such as virtual assistant or customer service rep. Once 'hired', the employee may be asked to provide personal information, including your bank account details and Social Insurance Number (SIN) under the premise of setting up your direct deposit and employment file. In some cases, they may even state that the potential new employee must cover the costs of training or equipment needed for their new position. The third common scam is 'accidentally' sending an overpayment and subsequently asking to have the extra funds sent back.
A young BC resident shared her experience with BBB, stating, “They contacted me by email saying they found my resume on Indeed and believed I was a great candidate for their Buying Assistant position. All the communications happened virtually, even the interview. They took my BC Driver’s License, bank details and my picture. Later, they told me to increase my daily withdrawal limit and asked me to convert their cash to a bitcoin cheque. It’s the moment I realized it was a scam. Though I didn’t lose money, I lost my personal and banking information to the scammer.”
To help new grads navigate their job hunting journey, BBB offers the following tips:
If you encounter an employment scam, report it on BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your experience can help others to recognize suspicious behaviour and stop scammers in their tracks.
To learn more about employment scams and how to avoid them, visit BBB.org/EmploymentScam