BackAlert! Fraudsters lure job seekers with 'Headsup Corporation' openings
Job scams: Fraudsters mislead job seekers by offering attractive employment opportunities, hence, such job scams are difficult to spot and people end up losing personal information, time, and money.
PremiumThe employment market has become increasingly saturated with various job scams including work-from-home schemes in today's digital world. The scammers mislead job seekers by offering attractive employment opportunities, hence, such job scams are difficult to spot and people end up losing personal information, time, and money.
A similar employment fraud is taking place in the name of a human resource consulting company ‘Headsup Corporation’. Many people are falling prey to this job scam and lost thousands in exchange for fraudulent employment offers.
Speaking to Mint, Sumit Kumar, Director & Founder, Headsup Corporation said that it began six months ago when the company got the first e-mail regarding the scam from a person named SB Reddy who was the victim of a fraudulent employment offer.
“He (the victim) was reached out by a con man with a fake employment opportunity using Headsup Corporation’s name. The con man collected the money from the victim as enrollment fees to start the job," Kumar said.
“At first, we did not take it seriously. However, as time passed we started receiving calls from more people who were cheated in the name of our company providing work-from-home jobs to them. We started receiving 8-10 emails each day regarding the same issue. And then we filed a complaint regarding the issue urging the authorities to find out the scammers and take strict actions against them," the company's director explained.
Take a look at snapshots of conversations between victims and scammers,
Sumit Kumar has further shared some tips for spotting fake job offers and how to avoid them. Job seekers can protect themselves by following these tips:
According to the Headsup Corporation founder, these scams cannot be stopped legally due to the vague network but can stop people from falling for such scams by educating them.
“There are a few methods to identify if the opportunity is fake or real. We should avoid clicking on any pop-up link or any links for opportunities sent through text or WhatsApp messages. People should ensure to confirm any job openings that they may have received via text or messages. Verify the company and employees before sharing any further documents or details," Kumar told Livemint.
He said that if people are searching for a job, they should check the company's official website or its social media accounts, such as LinkedIn, to see if any positions are available.
“The best way is to go on the respective company websites and talk to someone, ideally from the recruitment team, to ascertain if the opportunity is genuine. Jobs based on tasks or part-time are always advertised differently and not via text messages usually. If you find something suspicious, the first thing to do is block that number," he added.
As an organization, the Headsup Corporation is doing everything in its power to stop people from falling for scams involving fake jobs, Kumar said.
“We have reported the incident and asked the cyber security units to intervene in this case. We are also raising awareness about fake job scams on social media by talking about them. We have also added a pop-up to our website warning that a false scam is being conducted by our name, please beware and verify thrice before taking any steps forward," he said.
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