How to know a job offer isn't a scam: Did a professor really post it? And why the check?

What could be more flattering to a new college grad than spotting an email from a college professor who suddenly has an inside track on a job that seems just perfect.

But not so fast. Unfortunately, you've got to step back these days, no matter how much you need a paycheck, and ask yourself if that professor is really sending you an email. Really? Are you about to make good money? Or lose some?

Crooks who run job scams know how to make anything look convincing. They create the illusion that the check they sent you is real, even though the check shows up long before you work a single day. They gain your trust by impersonating big name firms or well-known professors. And they know how to use internet or social media ads to promote great — but yes, fake — jobs.

Unfortunately, you might not spot a scam until you've lost hundreds of dollars.

One of the newer twists involves playing up that college connection.

"We hear about job scams all of the time," said Kati Daffan, assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission's marketing practices division.

"But what we've seen recently is that scammers are using tactics to make their fake jobs look even more realistic. It's particularly difficult to spot these in today's world where many people are looking for jobs online, they're applying for jobs online, they may be interviewing online, and then they may be working remotely."

One newer tactic is to make a very targeted, potentially realistic-looking pitch to an individual or group of people, such as the 2024 graduating class of a particular college or university.

"They may pretend to be a professor and reach out to college students," Daffan said. "Or pretend to be associated with an office of the college."

Much sophisticated online research can be done in advance by scammers to say, perhaps, spot a name of professor of engineering if they're pitching you a job in manufacturing. Or maybe the professor needs help with some research.

Who wouldn't want to imagine that their work was so impressive in college that their professor noticed and now wants to pass along a tip on a job?

University of Michigan, Oakland University see 'job scams'

"The most common job scams that have been reported to us involve scammers impersonating university faculty or legitimate employers, enticing students with fake internships or remote work opportunities," said Wayne Thibodeau, senior director of the Career and Life Design Center at Oakland University in Rochester.

Many times, Thibodeau said, one step in the scheme involves sending a check in advance to the new hire to cover initial technology expenses for setting up a home office. The check is counterfeit. The college student or college grad deposits it but the check doesn't bounce until much later, often after some money has been spent or transferred to scammers for some reason. The consumer often ends up being responsible for any money lost in the scam.

The University of Michigan posted a warning in early May about "highly customized email scams" that target U-M students with internships, jobs and accommodations.

The scammers impersonate actual U-M professors and staff by spoofing their email addresses. And yes, somehow a fake check, perhaps even one that looks like it was issued by the University of Michigan, will come into the picture.

Threat actors tend to target college students particularly aggressively at the end and the beginning of the academic year, according to Sol Bermann, chief information security officer and executive director of information assurance at the University of Michigan.

Campus communities across the country, Bermann said, have seen an uptick of job scams and other scams aimed at students in the past two to three years. Spear phishing emails in the past might try to sound credible by using the name of the president of the university, maybe requesting the recipient buy gift cards for an event, he said. But now, more frequently con artists are misusing the names of faculty members, both well-known and lesser-known academics, when sending malicious emails.

Sometimes, he said, the email might suggest that the professor wants to hire someone to work as a research assistant.

"We've had students lose money along the way," Bermann said.

The No. 1 tip, according to the FTC's Daffan, is to contact the professor or employer directly by calling a phone number that you obtain on your own. You must verify that this job posting is real and that you really are interviewing for that job with that employer.

Unfortunately, it's not safe to assume that you're dealing with a real job offer even if you have an online interview or receive an employee handbook or other types of paperwork. Daffan noted that some con artists even go so far as to send fake paperwork that looks very authentic.

No, she said, this isn't one of those type of scams that you might easily detect by tracking typos in the email.

"The scammers are getting more sophisticated in presenting themselves as an actual job opportunity," she told the Detroit Free Press in a phone interview.

College students, she said, can be more heavily targeted by employment scams because many are often looking for work, even if it's only a part-time job to make ends meet.

Complaints about job scams grew in 2023

Employment-related scams ranked as the No. 2 riskiest scam — as people are more likely to lose money — based on a 2023 report by the Better Business Bureau. Investment and cryptocurrency scams ranked No. 1. The risk index takes into account the prevalence of type of scam, the likelihood of losing money, and the reported monetary losses.

Reports to the BBB Scam Tracker about employment scams jumped by 54% in 2023 from the previous year. The median loss reported by consumers was $1,995 last year. That's up from $1,500 in 2022.

Job scams trigger the biggest risk for those in the 18-to-44-year-old age group, according to the report.

The risks include losing personal information on a fake job application, as well as losing money to scammers for “training” or “equipment.” The BBB noted that victims also can be “overpaid” with a fake check and asked to wire back the difference.

More: No, you did not just get a real text to pay unpaid tolls. It's a scam.

How to avoid job scams

Here are big red flags of job scams:

Fake job postings: Scammers post all sorts of jobs online, including paid internships, research projects, even pet sitting. Social media, as well as online job marketplaces, are hot spots for job scams. But you might also hear about such jobs via text message or email. So, it's key to step back and search the job or employer's name and the word “scam” online. You might save yourself time and money by spotting other reports involving job scams early on.

Sometimes, you'll discover that this cannot-miss job opportunity isn't listed on the company's legitimate website.

Bogus checks: Great, you got an interview, even if it was one on a messaging app, and now you've been offered the job. All good, until your new employer absolutely must send you a check upfront to cover the cost of buying a laptop, an iPhone or other supplies you need to do this job. Don't even think twice — don't cash it.

Sure, you might be able to quickly deposit the check via your bank's mobile app, and the bank might make some money available soon. Here's the catch: The money is available, but it can take several days for the check to actually clear.

The fake check will be discovered further down the line. And the person who desperately needs a paycheck will be stuck paying the bill.

"When the bank discovers that the check is no good, it takes money from the victim’s bank account to cover the loss," according to a comprehensive jobs scam study released by the Better Business Bureau in 2021.

The recruiter is rushing you: Any time you feel rushed, run in the opposite direction. Most scams, including job scams, involve getting consumers to move so quickly that they cannot think things through, do a little research, or talk over what's happening with a friend or family member. You want to have time to do your homework.

Send us money: Scammers get their money in a variety of ways, including money orders, cash and bitcoin.

I spoke with a 27-year-old woman who lost $500 in a job scam two years ago after depositing a bogus check in the bank and then feeding five Benjamins into a bitcoin ATM at a liquor store in Lake Orion. The reason scammers gave her for sending the money: The new employer needed to confirm that she lived in the area before sending her a laptop to do her job. And somehow, going to a bitcoin ATM in the area would confirm it.

The job opening just showed up one day in her email. The main job interview was done via a RingCentral messaging app over roughly three hours. And the job paid $45 an hour.

The demands for her to keep sending more money continued. After all, the so-called new employer had sent her a $6,548 check via Federal Express. Sure, it was fake check, but the scammers were hoping to keep getting cash before the victim found out.

The young woman became suspicious nearly immediately after sending that first $500 via the bitcoin ATM. The money was gone, but she was thankful that she did not send more money.

A St. Louis woman, according to a BBB report, lost $4,800 to a job scam after she posted her resume on Indeed.com. She was contacted by phone and text message about a job at Intuit. She interviewed for thejob on Zoom, and the next day was told she was hired. The remote work paid $24 an hour. She provided her bankaccount information so that her pay could be deposited into her account.

She was sent a check for $2,400 to cover work equipment, before she started working.

The result: The crooks talked her into buying $2,400 in gift cards at Home Depot to cover the work equipment she'd need to buy from a vendor. She scratched off the numbers on the back and sent them by text message to the scammers. The BBB report noted the crooks took another $2,400 from her account. The woman was unable to pay her rent.

In some scams, con artists will just ask for money. "When you are asked to pay upfront, you are promised reimbursement with your first paycheck. The scammers now have your money and possibly bank information. You will not receive a paycheck," according to a warning about employment scams from the Michigan Attorney General.

Do not give bank account information: Some scammers say they need your bank account number right now so that they can directly deposit your check. Crooks can use that information to hack your bank account. An employer doesn't need your credit card number, either.

Asked to send a package: Earlier in 2024, the BBB Serving Eastern Michigan and Upper Peninsula warned of a job scam where workers would "inspect, re-label or forward packages." Many complained to the BBB, as well as posting complaints on Reddit. They said they never got paid for work that they supposedly were hired to do for a company calling itself Connect Shipping.

According to information provided by consumers, the BBB said, "in addition to forwarding packages, some consumers were asked to use their credit card to purchase items to be shipped to others."

Reshipping jobs are huge scams. Sometimes you're even engaging in shipping stolen goods.

Where to report scams: You can report job scams, and other scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or the Better Business Bureau at BBB.org/ScamTracker. You also can report job scams to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) @tompor.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: University of Michigan and others warn of highly targeted job scams