Research the person that contacted you, as well as the company, is one of several tips the Better Business Bureau (BBB) suggests to avoid a job scam.
If you are applying for jobs online, do your research before accepting an interview or employment offer.
Job scammers have gotten very sophisticated, convincingly claiming to represent real employers, requiring interviews, and even providing phony offer letters. These cunning new twists on traditional job scams have increased in BBB's Scam Tracker.
In fact, according to BBB's latest Scam Tracker Risk Report, employment scams were identified as the number one riskiest scam for people ages 18-44 in 2023.
You apply for a job online through a reputable, third-party job-seeking site, or you see a posting for a remote job on social media and message the poster. A few days or weeks later, you get a text message or email asking if you are still interested in the position or a similar one at the same company. Since you made your contact information available to your potential employer when applying, the message doesn't strike you as unusual.