Fraudulent Job Postings

In addition to the hundreds of great opportunities from legitimate employers listed on Handshake, we unfortunately see occasional fraudulent postings as well. 

If you have given any personal information to a fraudulent employer, here are a few steps we recommend to take:

1. Report to local police if you provided bank routing information, if funds were transferred into your account or if any withdrawals occurred. Police are responsible for conducting an investigation (regardless of whether the scam artist is local or not). 

• • If you live ON-CAMPUS, file a report with the Campus Police by calling the non-emergency line
  • If you live OFF-CAMPUS, file a report within your domain (local police department) using the non-emergency line. San Diego Police Department

2. Flag the employer or position on Handshake, this will alert Handshake's Trust and Safety team to open an investigation. Please note, employers will not be notified that a flag has been submitted.  Also, please contact Career Services regarding the fraudulent posting or employer: [email protected]

3. Contact Bank: If you have sent money to a fraudulent employer, immediately contact your bank or credit card company to protect the account and dispute any charges. *If you are a current SDSU student and have lost funds, you should also file a claim with our on-campus Economic Crisis Response Team. 

4. File a Report with the FTC: Report the job scam to the Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, which collects complaints about companies, business practices, and identity theft. You can do this here.

5. Flag the employer or position on Handshake, this will alert Handshake's Trust and Safety team to open an investigation. Please note, employers will not be notified that a flag has been submitted.  

Despite our monitoring of incoming postings, it is important that students carefully review job postings for signs of fraud.

Warning signs

In the COVID-19 era, virtual job search safety is more important than ever. Here are some warning signs to look out for when evaluating a potential opportunity:

• You are asked to give your credit card or bank account numbers, or copies of personal documents — but you get nothing in writing.
• You must send payment by wire service or courier.
• You are offered a large payment or reward in exchange for allowing the use of your bank account — often for depositing checks or transferring money. Note: This sample is for illustration purposes only (PDF).
•  Fraudulent recruiting letter
• You receive an unexpectedly large check. Note: these samples are for illustration purposes only (PDF):
• FedEx shipping label
• Check
• This is not an exhaustive list. There may be other clues, or a fraudulent posting may not conform to any of these conditions — but these are common tactics.
  • Visit the IT Phishing page for more information and examples.

Scam and fraudulent postings are not limited to online job boards. Some scams are posted on physical bulletin boards around campus and may seem like they're affiliated with or promoting advocacy groups or causes that students care about.

What to do if you receive a Phishing Email

1. If you receive a Phishing Email:
   • Please forward the message to [email protected] a well as report this to Career Services at [email protected].
2. After reporting to [email protected], if you are using the Gmail interface, you can report phishing directly to Google:
   • Sign in to Gmail.
   • Open the message you'd like to report.
   • Click the triple-dot icon next to Reply, at the top-right of the message pane.
   • Select Report phishing.
3. After you have reported it and received a response, delete emails and messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information.
   
   
4. Do not reply, click on the links, or provide any sensitive information / user credentials.