I am writing this because today I had a recruiter ask me to give me the last four of my Social Security number and DOB. When I said I was not comfortable with this, they asked for a photo of my driver’s license. I said no to this as well. The last 4 of social security are the most sensitive. The rest can be figured out from publically available information. Here are the things that I have learned that recruiters do that put you at risk of being scammed.
- Sharing any kind of personal identifying information. There is no purpose in sharing this info until a background check happens. Going to the example above, I have never had a recruiter ask for a photo of my driver’s license. In many states, your Social Security number is on your driver’s license, and that is not helping.
- Being asked to pay to take tests/prep or anything to be more attractive to the company.
- Being asked for a range of salary instead of sharing the salary range like they know it is the law in NY. That annoyed me about this recruiter as well. Clearly, someone who doesn’t know the law.
- Being sent jobs that have nothing to do with your skill sets, or offering a ridiculous amount of money 2 or more times the going market rate. They want your greed and desperation not you.
- Only talking to you through emails. It doesn’t help you trust someone who you have never seen, talked to, or had a chance to develop rapport with. It is the mark of a scammer.
You have to trust your gut when you deal with people you don’t know. If you don’t think someone is legit and don’t want to share information you don’t have to. It is better to be safe than sorry.