Due to COVID-19, many people started looking for remote opportunities. Unfortunately, when there is a huge demand, more scammers begin to show up.
I am writing this article to warn you about one of them, whom I call: “ Chat Interview Scammers.”
You might come across them in almost every job posting platform. The scammers have many faces, using real companies, real people’s names.
They sent an affirmative reply to your application with a detailed email, inviting you for an interview, asking you to add them on Skype or send an email to some Gmail address.
Once you do that, they reach out to your availability for an interview. The interview is just a chat, but the scammers don’t let you know at first, you figure it out once the conversation starts.
If you have a chance to check out the company before the interview, you will see that it exists, and the person who is contacting you is, for real, working for that company. Though, they use a Gmail address instead of a company email. That should be the first red flag for you.
Let’s move on.
The interview starts with an introduction. An interesting one:
“ I am Mr./Mrs. XYZ, the HR Manager of the company XYZ. Please introduce yourself.”
Pretty lame, isn’t it?
They even show you their company id, to make sure you know who they are—a photoshop edited picture, nothing else.
Then, they ask you a few questions, the usual interview question to know you better. Once you go through them, the evaluation question part will be the next, where they write a list of around ten questions and give you some time to answer them.
So far, the interview ends here. Now, it is their time to check your answers. Don’t worry; it does not take much time. You will see this on the chatbox:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Yes, you are selected to be hired. The hourly rate will be at least the same as your expectations, but generally, they offer you a higher salary.
One thing, though!
There is a straightforward thing that you need to do before starting working for them. This one simple thing might get different names, but the common point is that you have to pay for something, either for the equipment or for the background check, or whatsoever. The amount that you have to pay is so less. I know a few people paid, and never heard back from them again. They vanish.
Dear job seekers,
Maybe you are new in searching for remote opportunities, that is okay. Please be aware that these are not the only scammers, and even the process of these people might have been changed since now. But it doesn’t matter. There is one golden rule to avoid these scammers:
DON’T PAY FOR ANY JOB!
That simple.
I hope this article helps.
Please also check out my previous article about different scammers.
