Exposing Job Recruiting Scams: Protecting Professionals Over 50 from Fraudulent Hiring Tactics

Job recruiting scams are a growing problem; they can be costly to both job seekers and businesses, and a drain on personal time and even morale.  On July 20, 2023, an entrepreneurial sales and business development leader, Chris Calvosa, kindly posted the following on LinkedIn:

“I was emailed by a person claiming to be Henry Mitchell, a Senior Executive Recruiter at Elite Executive Talent. He said he found my profile on LinkedIn, and that I "might be an excellent fit for one of the senior-level positions" that his client is trying to fill. His message asked me to upload a resume to a link he provided, and to add a few details to their database. I did not click on the link, and instead, I did some digging. Sadly, Elite Executive Talent and the mirror site I discovered, PrestigeCruit, are employment scams seeking to prey on hopeful job-seekers.”

In his research, Mr. Calvosa discovered that these allegedly separate recruiting firms contained the same executive team photos, but with different names.  For example, the Managing Directors, Executive Search for both alleged firms contained a photo that can be found on ShutterStock, of a “Confident Senior Businessman Drinking a Coffee.”   

Last year, similar to Calvosa, I received a letter from “Barbara Wilson, Senior Executive Recruiter at EZJ Global Inc.” that said, “Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in their organization.  Our Talent Acquisition Manager mentioned that you might be a good fit for one of the open positions. From what I have seen on your Linkedin profile, your background is impressive… Let me know if you are interested in learning more by responding to this email with a copy of your resume.”   I was curious, so I sent a professional reply with my resume attached.  In hindsight, if my background was so impressive, then why did they need my resume?  It’s all right there on LinkedIn (or wherever they found me).  

I received a response that my resume was not “ATS-friendly,” with an offer of a “free resume review” from https://www.smartresumeexperts.com/freereview.”  The resume review actually cost about $5, but that expense seemed marginal enough. I was then informed that my resume would need significant re-work, and that I could have that done for about $99.  At that point, I sent a rather expletive nastygram with the words, “I see this as a violation of privacy laws related to HR contacts, and potential abuse of the internet.  I will be providing the feedback on your site to the organizations that regulate internet scams.”  The Smart Resume Experts responded, denying any connection between them and EZJ Recruiting.  Fortunately, I never heard from them again and, not surprisingly, neither website exists today.   Shortly after the incident, I did a brief google search and found that the supposed search firm was much like those Chris Calvosa describes - a slick-looking website with photographs of an executive team that is made up of stock photos; in short, a scam.  

Scammers often target seniors. The executive search firm scams seem especially insidious, targeting job seekers; in other words, people who will get excited that someone has noticed them for a “senior level” position and is impressed with their skills.  They might be willing to fork over a couple hundred dollars to get the perfect resume or get a foot in the door at their dream company.  

Recruiters are not paid by job seekers.  They are paid by companies that engage them to find candidates.  Never, under any circumstances, should a job seeker pay a recruiter.  Sending a nice thank you gift after an excellent placement is another story.  If you want a resume rewrite, there are plenty of independent sources, including hiring a talented freelancer on Upwork, Fiverr, or any number of other freelance sites.

There are a couple questions that should be in any job seekers arsenal when contacted by an alleged recruiter:

• Who referred you to me?  Where did you get my contact information? 

• Who is your client?

• Are you on retained search? (this is a good way to determine whether they are legitimately engaged to fill a specific position, or whether they are trying to use your great resume to get them a foot in the door).

• I haven’t heard of your firm before.  Who are some of your clients?

A good recruiter will provide you with the name of the company that is hiring, assuming you are interested in the position described. If they claim it’s confidential, move on. It’s perfectly reasonable (and expected) for you to know what company you may be interviewing with; perhaps you aren’t interested and, indeed, you have a right to be picky.  In any case, you should know who you are interviewing with beforehand, so you can do your research.

Scams hurt recruiters, recruits, and even the companies that are recruiting.  In one instance we know about, a candidate was actually told the name of the company that was hiring, and then was asked to pay a $250 fee to the recruiter.  The candidate called the company in question and was told, “That’s a scam.  We know about them.”  Imagine if the recruit had paid the fee.  Everyone is harmed. 

How to protect yourself from job recruiting scams:

There are many different types of job recruiting scams from fake job postings, to work-from-home scams, advance-fee scams and general identity theft.  Do your research.  Before you send your resume or contact information, make sure the company is legitimate and that the job posting is real.  Here are a few tips to protect yourself from job recruiting scams:

• Research the company and/or recruiter to ensure they are legitimate.  Check with the company to ensure that the recruiter is authorized.

• Be careful about what information you share online. Scammers can use information that you post on social media or job boards to target you with scams.

• Use strong passwords and keep them safe. 

• Be wary of emails and text messages from unknown senders. Scammers often send emails and text messages that appear to be from legitimate companies, but they may contain links to malicious websites or attachments that can infect your computer with malware.

• Use a credit monitoring service. A credit monitoring service can help you detect identity theft early on.

• Report scams to the authorities. If you believe you have been the victim of a job recruiting scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and your local law enforcement agency.

By following these tips, you can help protect yourself from job recruiting scams.