Jobs that sound too good to be true should raise a red flag for any college student. Attackers are preying on students who are looking to make extra money while in college. Sent via unsolicited offers directly to student accounts or even showing up in online job listing websites, fake job postings are attempts to steal your personal information and potentially drain your bank accounts.

How to Recognize a Scam

You may expect that the job posting you are looking into is a scam if the email or job posting contains any of the following:

• Does not indicate the company name/the employer contact information.
• Comes from an email address that does not match the company name.
• Offers to pay a large amount of money for very little work.
• Requests personal information from you such as Social Security Number, bank account numbers, credit card details, copies of your passport/license or other documents during the interview process.
• Requires you to transfer/wire money from one account to another, or to purchase any type of gift cards.
• Offers you a job without ever interacting with you.
• Offers to send you a check before you actually start working.

How to Avoid a Scam

Here are some things that you can do to protect yourself from a scam:

• Visit the organization's website: if the organization in question doesn't have a website or the website doesn't seem to match the advertised job, there may be cause for concern.
• Use personal contacts, LinkedIn, or other networking sites: use any connections you may have that can help you find inside information about the company.
• Be suspicious of poor communication skills of the employer: be careful when an employer cannot communicate accurately or effectively on the website, by email, over the telephone.
• Don't pay any application fees that may be requested from you: legitimate employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job.
• Never bank on a "cleared" check: no legitimate potential employer will ever send you a check and then tell you to send on part of the money, or buy gift cards with it.

If You Were Scammed

Here are some things you can do if you have been scammed:

• Report it to Drexel's Department of Public Safety.
• If you have been a victim of one of these scams or any other internet related scam, you are encouraged to file a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Compliant Center IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
• You can also report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/.
• For more information on what to do, please visit the Federal Trade Commission's web page at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed.       

If you are suspicious of a job posting or email, don't hesitate to contact the Steinbright Career Development Center.