Attorney General Brenna Bird Warns Iowans about Job Scams

DES MOINES—Attorney General Brenna Bird is cautioning Iowans to be wary of scammers posing as potential employers. In one of these scams, you may receive a job offer via text or email describing a job that allows you to work from home with little effort.

However, these unsolicited offers are often too good to be true.  You might get what looks like an official-looking job offer (sometimes before you even interview), yet the offer comes with paperwork that requires your personal financial information (supposedly for direct deposit).  A so-called “recruiter” or” interviewer” will even push for you to answer that information before they answer questions about the job.

In reality, there is no job.  It’s a scam and the “recruiter” or “interviewer” is a scammer. Real employers won’t ask for personal financial information before they’ve actually interviewed and hired you.

“If a job offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers are evil and prey on people who need a job or extra income,” said Attorney General Bird. “Be very aware, do your homework on a potential employer, and don’t give away your personal information until you have a job offer from a legitimate business.”

How do you know if a job offer is a scam?

• Was the job offer unsolicited?  Be wary of job offers over email or text and any “employer” with an overly simple interview process.

• What is the sender’s email address? Recruiters will generally email from a corporate email account, not from a personal email like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com.

• What information do they want?  Scammers will ask for your personal information like your driver’s license, Social Security number, or bank account number to fill out “employment paperwork” before you interview or before they will talk about job duties.

Before you accept a job offer:

• Search online. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” See if others say they’ve been scammed by that company or person.

• Don’t pay for the promise of a job. Honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job. If they do, it’s a scam.

• Never bank on a “cleared” check. No honest potential employer will ever send you a check and then tell you to send part of the money back or buy gift cards with it. That’s a fake check scam.

If you or someone you know is a victim of or suspicious of a scam, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590 or file a complaint online here.