Job seekers beware: 5 tips on how to avoid ‘fake job’ phishing

Employment scams are becoming more common, and job seekers continue to be a target to cunning scammers. If you’re looking for a new job, be alert to these scams, by learning what to watch out for to better safeguard yourself against them.

What is the scam?

Criminals will pose as reputable companies, like Thomson Reuters and post fictitious job descriptions on fake websites that look like the real thing. They will then make fraudulent job offers to job seekers. In some cases, they may ask for money, banking details or other personally identifiable information.

These scams have become more sophisticated and can appear as legitimate recruitment activities; and often appear through third-party websites or direct email.
This scam, or ‘recruitment fraud’ as it is known, is becoming increasingly common.

How can you protect yourself?

Here are 5 tips to identify phishing scams:

1. Be cautious of generic emails. Scammers try to cast a wide net by including little or no specific information. Always be wary of emails which seem overly generic.
2. Incorrect domain names or email addresses. Check for misspellings of Thomson Reuters or non-Thomson Reuters email addresses (i.e. gmail.com, yahoo.com). Our approved emails will come from @thomsonreuters.com or @tr.com.
3. Offer of employment without physical interviews. Our recruiters will often ask for in-person interviews however due to current pandemic situation , we have been doing virtual interviews over video and we generally use only MS Teams for this purpose
4. Request for financial information or payments. Our recruiters will never ask prospective employees for payment to apply for a position or as a condition of employment. For example, any required background check will be paid by Thomson Reuters.
5. The “perfect” job.  A job posting which states extremely high compensation for a position that requires “no skills or experience,” seems too good to be true, and is likely to be fraudulent.

What can I expect from Thomson Reuters?

Thomson Reuters takes this matter extremely serious and is working to reduce the instances of our brand being used as part of fraudulent, criminal, activity. At no point would Thomson Reuters ever ask for money, credit card or bank account information to complete a job application.

Please ensure that any communications you send to Thomson Reuters are only sent to addresses ending in @thomsonreuters.com or @tr.com. Applications for posts advertised through thomsonreuters.com/careers provide a secure portal for you to enter your details as part of our standard recruitment processes.

By making you aware of this scam, we hope to prevent you from falling victim.

If you have any questions or suspicions regarding the authenticity of any job posting or communication allegedly by or on behalf of Thomson Reuters or an affiliated company, please contact us immediately.