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Fraudulent Job Posting Warning

In Career Development we care about our students' safety and their career success. We understand the effort you are devoting to your job search and future career.  Unfortunately, con artists and scammers will interfere by attempting to take your money or your personal information through fraudulent job postings.  These postings can be difficult to spot at first, so it is up to you to do your due diligence and to use good judgment and common sense. No legitimate employer will ever ask for any of your email account passwords.  Please report any attempts to obtain your JagMail password to infosec@southalabama.edu.

Career Development at the University of South Alabama hosts job postings and other opportunities to facilitate career-related interactions between students and employers.  While we make diligent efforts to curtail non-legitimate postings, it is impossible to ensure that every job posting is legitimate, and impossible to keep track of every employer and position after submission. As noted in our policy statement, it is your responsibility to thoroughly research information and options and take all necessary precautions in an effort to make informed employment decisions. Career Development follows principles set for by the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) and expects employers using its services to comply with EEO guidelines and adhere to the NACE Principles for Ethical Professional Practice in their employment practices.

Because con-artists and scammers are not concerned with behaving ethically or legally, here are some points to be aware that might help avoid you being scammed:

Do not supply a potential employer with your credit card or banking account information. 
An employer that sends you a check to deposit money in your account to buy supplies or make payments.  They commonly use the excuse that they are working abroad or out of town and need someone to manage things locally.
Work your own hours, be a secret shopper, work for an a-list celebrity, or you can make $10,000 for one week of work.  These jobs often look like easy and convenient ways to make make money with very little effort.  The old adage is accurate: If it looks to good to be true, then it probably isn't true!
Typically, there will not be typos or poor grammar in a legitimate job posting.  Be very suspicious if you see either in a job posting.
Earn $100,000 in your first job out of college.  Again the idea is that scammers want to make you believe you were highly sought after to complete jobs anyone could do.  The truth is you will not make a lot of money without talent, experience, and specialized skills.
There are legitimate 'work at home' jobs, but they are often difficult to find.  Do significant research and ask tough questions.
Please don't!
You search for a company you have never heard of before.  The first link is to Facebook or free website creator site.  It might look good, but the content does not appear correct.  You click on the 'contact us' and see no phone number.  These are all red flags of potential scams.
The posting appears to be from a reputable, family company, yet the email is from a free web-based service, use caution.  We suggest you check the open positions on the company's website to validate the position.
Legitimate organizations have offices. Be wary.

If you think you have been scammed:

  1. Email Career Development so we can review the position/employer.
  2. If you did send money to a fraudulent employer, contact your bank or credit card company immediately to hold/close your accounts and dispute the charges.
  3. Contact the USA campus police department.
  4. If the incident occurred completely over the internet, you should file an incident report with the FTC or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Thank you to the Career Center at the University of Northern Iowa for allowing portions of their site to be reprinted.

 

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