How to avoid getting tricked by the ‘You’re hired’ scams

Even on trusted job search sites that use fraud detection technology, employment scams have skyrocketed. If you’re job hunting, your best offence is a strong defensive strategy. — Dreamstime/TNS

The number of job scams reported to the US Federal Trade Commission has ballooned in recent years – from 7,324 in the third quarter of 2020 to 21,848 a year later.

While job sites, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, say they use a combination of sophisticated technology and human reviewers to weed out millions of fake listings, many scammers’ techniques continue to elude detection. Here are some tips to make sure the position and company to which you’re applying are real.