Career Center helps students avoid job scams
Posted on: March 14, 2017; Updated on: March 14, 2017
By Adena Rice, stucomm@mailbox.sc.edu
The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently reported that college students across the nation are being entangled in an employment scam that could result in financial damages and identify theft.
The scammers are recruiting students through emails and job postings for administrative positions, instructing students to make various purchases, only to find out later that they are being reimbursed with counterfeit checks.
“We have been working to educate students about this type of scam for quite some time now,” says Tom Halasz, director of the University of South Carolina Career Center. “We have put several mechanisms in place to prevent students from becoming victims of this type of activity while ensuring their information remains safe and secure when applying for jobs, internships, or any career-related opportunity.”
The Career Center works with several organizations and top employers to help students avoid scams in a number of ways. One in particular is through the Career Center’s new online job platform, Handshake, which has built-in scam detection software that is able to monitor and quickly shut down scams nationwide prior to entering the platform. The Career Center’s “avoiding job scams” tip sheet outlines red flags to look for during a job search, precautionary measures to take when sharing online information and resources to help confirm the legitimacy of a company through agencies such as the Better Business Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce.
In the event students become involved or detect any suspicious activity while applying for jobs, they are encouraged to immediately report the information to the FBI via their Internet Crime Complaint Center on its website, the USC Information Technology Department at 803-777-0707, oit@sc.edu and the Career Center at 803-777-1585, career@sc.edu.
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