by David Portney
Stiles Associates

There are few things more intriguing than getting an email from an executive recruiter who says you (yes, you!) are a great fit for a role their client is hiring form. Even if you’re not really looking for a new job, the mystery of the client and the specifics of the role are often too compelling to ignore. You scan the email and see the recruiter is asking for an updated resume, so you immediately get to work on giving it a long overdue refresh. However, before you spend too much time revamping your resume, you should be aware of a scam currently making the rounds through the executive ranks.

How the scam works

It starts innocently enough with a simple request for the email recipient to share their updated resume for an exciting new role. You promptly respond with the attachment, but the recruiter replies back within a day or so claiming there’s a “problem” with the file uploading into their system and asks you to click a link for you to upload the resume directly. Clicking that link could result in downloading some form of malware onto your computer or ask you to enter a credit card because you need to access their system as part of the upload process. If questioned, they might say they’ll reimburse you or that it’s only for a free trial period, and that you can cancel it before you actually get charged. Now they have your credit card information and you can expect to never hear from them again (and at this point you should notify the credit card company).

It sounds worrisome how a scammer can take advantage of innocent people looking to move up the company ladder, but thankfully, scam recruiters are fairly easy to spot with just a little bit of due diligence. There are several red flags to look for, when combined, can mean this is likely a scam:

The "recruiter’s" LinkedIn profile (or lack thereof)

Every legitimate recruiter has an updated LinkedIn profile with a professional head shot as their profile picture. In scams, you can’t even find a profile under that name and the company they claim to work for. You might shrug it off as their profile being difficult to find because of a vague name like John Smith or Lauren Robinson, but the recruiter name and company should be enough information to find them.

Bonus tip: See if the company has a LinkedIn page. Many don’t post at all let alone regularly, which isn’t necessarily a red flag, but if they are active on LinkedIn and share relevant information then that’s a positive sign this is legitimate. After all, these people running scams wouldn’t typically bother to actively run social media accounts.

Company website

Every executive search firm has a website, but not all websites are created equal. Some look professionally done, others look like they were cobbled together with the website equivalent of duct tape and super glue. For the purpose of finding scams, the most important part is information on the employees. Who are the employees? Can you verify those are real employees on LinkedIn and not stock images of professionally looking people? Is the email sender even part of the team? Those are all questions that should be easily answered no matter how good or bad the website may be.

There’s also a chance you can’t even find a website, which is the biggest red flag of them all.

Lack of information in the email signature

The vast majority of email signatures have a link to the company, the person’s LinkedIn profile and any phone numbers associated with that person (office, direct or cell). If the email sender has none of those that would be a significant red flag. If this recruiter really wanted the recipient to learn more about the person and company, then putting that information in the signature is the easiest and most effective way to do that when cold emailing.

If you aren’t sure whether you’re being scammed or not, just remember to never click on suspicious links or share any sensitive information like credit card info, bank documents or social security numbers. You can also reply back asking follow-up questions about the role or what it is about you specifically that caused them to reach out – and see if that illuminates anything if you even get a response. Typically, a small amount of pressure testing ultimately reveals the truth.