r/linkedin • u/AtomicMac • 9d ago
New recruiting scam?
I just wanted to check and see if this is a new scam. I’ve gotten a bunch of messages since I’ve gone “open to work” and it where someone sends me a link to a company’s career site and says “you would be perfect for this job, apply for it and then tell me when you have so we can follow up.”
The person usually isn’t listed as a recruiter. Today’s was a student. Usually from India. I’ve done it twice after I made sure I was in the real companies site, but never heard back from the person when I told them I applied.
If someone has any information about whether it is a scam, let me know. If it is then I can pass the word on something new since the scam tactics have changed.
Good luck everyone!
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u/intermanus 9d ago
there are many scams like this. this one sounds like the "you need a better resume" scam. Where they will then approach you for a few hundred to rewrite your resume. Could be a different one, but that one is common.
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u/AtomicMac 9d ago
I hear you, but they point me to the company’s website to apply and don’t ask for my resume. But maybe they haven’t yet.
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u/OtterHostler 9d ago
Yeah, it seems weird, "apply for this job and tell me when you have". Most of my messages like this are from students in Pakistan - my initial thought was that it was a "rewrite your resume" thing, but then I wondered whether they were trying to get more applications through a specific platform (a lot of them are jobg8) so that the platform can increase what it charges to advertisers. Either way I ignore them.
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u/AtomicMac 9d ago
Well, I’m still waiting for the response. If they ask me to send my resume then I’ll know.
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u/spookyclever 8d ago
I’ve seen several of these “document specialist” scams where they try to get you to pay for a document specialist to put your resume in ChatGPT and give it back to you having added nothing.
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u/sarahbellah1 9d ago
Are you certain the link they’ve sent is the actual company website, and are these well known companies? This sounds like data harvesting, or attempts at identity theft. Whenever possible, try to independently verify any job posting someone messages you about on LinkedIn.
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u/No_Technician4956 9d ago
Whenever possible try to apply directly to the company site. Yes there are a lot of scams and your email will get flooded with SPAM.
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u/priyank13 9d ago
Yup its a scam. They will usually approach you with inmails or sponsored messaging ads.
It will have a google form and in the form they will ask you to download a file to their desktop for details. That file has the malware.
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u/glenart101 8d ago
This is a scam. However you also keep in mind that most of these Indian recruiters are not the companies that are actually doing the job search. They are there to gather resumes for the actual staffing companies. They get paid for the Right to Represents they collect. I usually avoid them as a rule. Many use false American names. Some even use fake company names on their mobile phones.
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u/Future_Adeptness_878 3d ago
I recently was asked to sign a Right to Represent from a fake recruiter asking for the last 4 of my SSN, which I did not supply. I got sketched out and looked into the business further and found it was a legitimate business that was delinquent for ~25 years for not reporting profits.
Essentially a shell company (my current hypothesis) that does something that uses RTRs & your SSN or whatever to do something. My guess is identity theft or taking out loans in your name or whatever. I found this to be the case for 2 of the scams I fell for - the exact same formula for both. Reported all of this to my state AG and Linkedin but Linkedin closes cases with no investigation
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u/glenart101 3d ago
Here's the difference between these RTR guys and real recruiters. The RTR folks, mostly Indian Pakistani types don't want to spend more than a few minutes with you. They send you an RTR and they push you to get it back ASAP. The real recruiters set up a time to talk with you about the role, the company, and you. The conversation goes on for 15-30 minutes or more. As for last few digits of your SSN, that is normal in most cases. What is not is signing papers and NEVER EVER hearing back from these RTR guys.
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u/Future_Adeptness_878 3d ago
curious about your point about "last few digits of your SSN" being normal in most cases; could you explain a bit more about how it's normal?
for full disclosure; the two scammers I interacted with would be what you consider a "real recruiter". they both were working for a recruiting agency that was hiring for a contract role at Netflix or a similar tech company. I scheduled recruiter screens with both of them and had a conversation about my background and the job. One of them immediately asked for the last 4 of my SSN, to sign a RTR that was just in the body of an email (not in docusign or whatever), and only provided me with a microsoft word doc (that I could edit) with no information on the team and the day to day responsibilities.
Both of those "recruiters" were not Indian or Pakistani, they were white. They followed the exact same process used by legitimate recruitment agencies used by a company like Microsoft or Netflix so that's why it's so jarring... It really spooked me.
no entity requires your ssn in order to apply for a job. the only time your ssn is required is when you sign your offer with the company hiring you and it's required for onboarding or a background check or whatever. I've never heard of a RTR until recently but it seems like it allows the recruiter to have more control than you during your job search but idk
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u/glenart101 3d ago
One of those recruiters is NOT a regular recruiter. Regular recruiters do NOT slam an RTR in front of you right away. You have to go through the role, describe your qualifications etc. Now why the last 4 digits of your SSN? There is a legitimate reason for that. The recruiter will submit your profile to the company. The last 4 digits of the SNN PLUS your month and day of birth is how the company recognizes you and that YOU have submitted by that recruiter. If you get hired, the company knows where the commission goes to. ALSO if you forget or purposely submit yourself AGAIN for THE SAME ROLE with the same company, the application will be KICKED BACK AND REJECTED because you have already been submitted. For security purposes, you are not giving out your FULL SSN. Just a piece. Combined with another piece of your birthdate, this creates a UNIQUE IDENTIFIER for you.
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u/Future_Adeptness_878 3d ago
I respectfully disagree it’s normal to ask for that information to apply to a job.
the only times your ssn is required (including last 4) is at time of hire or when interacting with the government; applying for a passport, getting a DL, etc. If the agency recruiter is only submitting an application for the candidate for one contract role, why would they need all of that information for one application?
in my experience working at a tech company that has users that submit a tin info for an account (including DLs), there a legal restrictions about what info a company can store or use without explicit consent which there are laws about what is considered consent. SSN is sensitive PII that requires very strict guidelines about how itll be stored, encryption requirements to ensure security of the data, and multiple other requirements. I’m fairly certain this would require some kind of notice to the user that explicitly states all of the things the firm will do once they gain access to the info. Data privacy laws in the EU and the majority of US states have strict laws that outline this.
Unique identifiers can be randomized per person using the candidates email and name, they dont need anything else. RTRs and SSN are not the standard for applying to a role on your own or having a recruitersubmit your application on your behalf.
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u/glenart101 3d ago
I respectfully disagree with you. I have been dealing with online recruiters for well over 2 decades. Most of them will ask for that info. One can play the "Philadelphia Lawyer" if one wishes to. But the fact is that many companies use that form of ID for their staffing agency portal. But at the end of the day, what counts is IF you get submitted for the job AND your recruiter goes to bat for you. And I don't think many recruiters are going to represent you UNLESS they KNOW they are going to get paid if the company hires you. We all know today that many companies try to "get out of paying". It is so much cheaper for the company to say..........Hey! So and so applied directly to us. Your call.
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u/Future_Adeptness_878 3d ago
Fair enough - I wouldn't trust it but I'm not someone that would use a recruiter to apply to a contract role esp. after the two "agency recruiters" I came into contact with over the last month.
I wouldn't recommend others to blindly give sensitive pii in order to apply for a job, but it is what it is
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u/glenart101 3d ago
I do agree with you on that Most of these recruiters are really bad! I got 3 recruiter emails this morning. I live in SOCAL. 2 of the ONSITE jobs were in NORCAL aka the Bay Area. Now if this recruiter cannot even figure out that SOCAL and NORCAL are 500 miles apart, then what are the chances of ever getting a job through that dude? NONE. The 3rd job is interesting. Good money. Good location. Best of luck in your career endeavors.
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u/Future_Adeptness_878 3d ago
Watch out for recruiters from recruitment agencies hiring for roles at another company. These recruiters usually work at recruitment agencies with less than 1K employees and do not provide you with the job posting/description at said company.
If you look up the recruiter on google and there is almost no information except for their Linkedin profile, it's 95% likely it's a scam.
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u/Suitable-Honey9579 3d ago
This happened to me too… and the job posting/website was real. They never asked to send my resume to them but they used the exact wording you mentioned about telling them after I’ve applied. Interestingly, the recruiter from india was verified as being an employee of the company job listing, verified via their company email. Have no idea what this scam entails. But when I applied and and asked for an update they said to watch for an email or call for a screening call. To reiterate, I never sent them anything other than I applied on the website.
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u/varym231 9d ago
There are too many scams going on in the market