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Tips to Avoid Job Scams

Students are the top priority of the CUNY School of Professional Studies Career Services department. We ensure that all internships and jobs on Symplicity are individually reviewed before being posted.

However, we encourage students and alumni to be vigilant about the integrity of any employer. We encourage you to always research all employers.

  1. Be skeptical and know the most common job scams. Jobs offering a lot of money for very little effort on your part are likely fronts for people who hope to collect information from you. The most common job scams include rebate or forms processing, wire transfers or money movement, and pyramid sales schemes.
  2. Know the process for a job offer. A job offer typically have the prospective candidate complete an application, in person interview, or discussion with the employer
  3. You should have your final offer in writing. Make sure you complete a W-2 for payroll processing in order to get paid by an employer.
  4. Verify job listings before you apply. New job scams often use a real company's name to advertise their scam.

Go to the main career page of the company and check their own website's listings to see if the job is really being offered by them. If you can't find it on the company's career page, call HR to verify. You may also want to be skeptical if no company name is listed at all.

  1. Stay clear of jobs that require you to pay for training.

Please keep in mind the most common types of scams:

  • Phishing: which involves clicking on a link so you’ll
    • fill out a form and submit personal and financial information for identity theft, or
    • unknowingly download malicious software onto your computer.
  • Asking for money or for you to buy something. A legitimate employer will never ask you to transfer money from your account for any reason, nor will they ask you to buy anything from a specific site.
  • Misrepresenting a job as legitimate lawful work, when in reality your work directly supports a criminal scheme, which could make you an unwitting accessory.