Interviewee Beware!

I have to admit that as a career counselor and coach, I never thought I would ever have to warn people about interview fraud, but that is the state of things now. Let me explain.

While out walking our dogs a few days ago, I stopped to talk with our next- door neighbor, Tony,  who is a graphic designer (yes, we stayed at least six feet apart for Covid safety). He said that he had been looking for a full -time job and applied for a position and was offered an interview on a Zoom meeting. He prepared for the interview and went through what appeared to be a typical interview. A day or so later, the interviewer called and offered Tony the job at a good salary. The best possible outcome, right? Well, maybe not…

Tony accepted the offer and the interviewer then proceeded to say that Tony would need certain computer equipment for the job so that he could work remotely from home. The company would pay for the equipment. Very nice! Then the interviewer asked Tony to give his checking account number and other bank information so that the company could deposit funds to cover the cost of the equipment. Tony, very smartly, said he would have to find the information and call back. He called the company he thought he had been interviewing with and was told that the company was not hiring and they had never heard of the person who interviewed him!

It was extremely disappointing to realize there was no job opportunity, but at least Tony avoided having his bank account robbed. This kind of interview fraud is far easier to carry off at this time when so much work, including job recruitment is carried out by virtual means. So my advice is that you go ahead and apply and do remote interviews to find work. But, do not give out any information on your bank account and other private sensitive information such as your social security number until you have thoroughly researched and confirmed that you are dealing with a legitimate representative of an actual company. In virtually every case, you should not be asked to provide any of this information until you have accepted an offer or conditional offer. And keep in mind that no legitimate company will ask you for money for any reason to begin employment.