Scammers know that finding a job can be tough. To trick people looking for honest work, scammers advertise where real employers and job placement firms post. Some job scams are easy to spot while others appear legitimate.
So how do you know who to trust? You can start with these basic guidelines to avoid a potential scam.
Never:
Never give out personal information like your social security or bank account number over email or phone.
Never take cashier’s checks, money orders or checks that you are sent and asked to print as a form of payment. Fake checks are common and the bank where you cash it will hold you accountable.
Never cash a check that comes with “extra” money and do not buy gift cards and send barcodes at an employer's request. Scammers send checks that require you to deposit a check at your bank, withdraw the “extra” money as cash, and then deposit or send that cash elsewhere. The check will bounce and you will be held accountable.
Never wire funds via Western Union, MoneyGram or any other service. Anyone who asks you to wire money is a scammer.
Never apply for jobs listed by someone far away or in another country.
Never agree to a background check unless you have met the employer, have interviewed and have researched that business/organization.
Never apply for a job that is emailed or texted to you out of the blue without fully researching the company- especially if the position offered or your research of the company provides minimal information.
Always:
Be skeptical. If a job is offering a lot of money for very little work, it could be a scammer trying to get personal information from you.
Research the employer. Do they have a reputable website or professional references? Is the job listing you want to apply for also on their company’s main career page? (Note: student work-study jobs may not be advertised on employer websites.)
Meet face-to-face with a potential employer. An in-person, virtual interview or informal chat over coffee will help you determine the employer’s intentions.
Be sure to choose a public place to meet, tell someone where you are going and bring your cell phone, just in case.
Take your time to consider a job opportunity. Scammers often put pressure on the recipient to act now or respond quickly- this is a clear sign of scam.
Contact Career Services, trusted family members, or friends with expertise to inquire about the legitimacy of a job if you have even the slightest doubt that it is real.
Trust your instincts. If a job sounds too good to be true, it is likely a scam.
Common Job Scams Targeting College Students:
Personal or office assistant/errands
Overpayment Scams
Mystery shoppers
Repackaging or shipping from home
Issuing checks/check processing from home
Model/talent agencies
Pyramid sales schemes
A variety of scams where a student is asked to pay for certification, training materials, or equipment with promise of reimbursement
Sometimes scammers impersonate instructors, advisors, deans or other members of the OSU community to trick students and employees into giving up personal information. This can also take the form of a fake job offer.
As a rule, students are only hired for OSU student jobs through official channels like an @okstate.edu email address, the OSU Career Services Hire System, or an application on Oklahoma State University Hiring Website.
Please remember that your OSU email address (@okstate.edu) is publically available on the OSU website directory and may increase the amount of junk mail you receive, including job scams. Even if the sender says that they received your information from the career center, you should verify this with OSU Career Services, as this is a common way for them to attempt to gain your trust.
To protect yourself from job scams involving someone pretending to be an OSU community member, do not respond to any offers coming from an unofficial email address (that is, any email address that doesn't end in @okstate.edu), or an unofficial communication channel like a text message, even if the sender claims to be someone you know from OSU.
If you are interested in finding a student job at OSU, consider searching for positions on the OSU Hire System, or contacting a potential supervisor directly using their @okstate.edu email address.
Reporting Fraud and Scam
If you feel that you’ve been the victim of a scam, please contact the OSU Police Department at 405-744-6523.
If you have concerns about the legitimacy of a job or internship posting, please contact OSU Career Services at 405-744-5253 or careers@okstate.edu.
If you think a job listing on the OSU Hire System Job Database is suspicious, let us know! We will investigate and remove any fraudulent job postings immediately. We do our best to filter out all scam or spam job postings from fictitious employers; most are never made active in the OSU Hire System. Our goal is to provide accurate job listing information on our website. But remember, you are responsible for your own safety, wages and working conditions.