Mercer Recruitment Scam – A Fake Job Offer
Got a text from a recruitment consultant at Mercer offering you an online remote job? Beware! It is a scam! The Mercer recruitment text has been reported by lots of recipients. It is a fake job recruitment offer that is not from Mercer Recruitment. Scammers are deceptively posing as recruitment agents at Mercer ( a human resources consulting firm)
This is How The Mercer Recruitment Scam Works
The job scam preys upon the eagerness of job seekers to find work by using fake job opportunities with high pay to trick recipients. Once they’ve gained their victim’s trust, they request for personal information, and then proceed to convince them to send ‘equipment fee’ or ‘application fee’ money.
People who fall for the scam, end up loosing their money and being vulnerable to identity theft.
5 Warning Signs of Job Scams You Should Be Wary of
1. If You’re Asked To Pay Money
Legitimate employers and hiring managers don’t require an application fee or expect you to pay for training. Sometimes this fee can be labelled ‘equipment fee’ for training. Whatever name it is, don’t fall for it.
2. Upfront Requests for Sensitive Information
Sensitive information (like your social security number, date of birth, or bank account information) isn’t a part of early recruitment process. Eventually, your employer will need this information for taxes and benefits enrollment, but only after you have a written job offer and sometimes not until your first day on the job.
3. Impersonates a Recruitment Company
In order to gain your trust, the scammers often use the name and brand of known recruitment companies. The first thing you should do is to search for the company’s official email address online and contact them in regards to the job. That way, you can verify if it is scam or legit.
4. Only Uses Texts and Online Chats
As technology evolves, so do scams, and some recruitment scams have migrated to texts or online chats especially via WhatsApp. Most legitimate companies don’t reach out to recruit via text unless you already applied on the company’s site and opted to receive text messages.
5. If It Seems Too Good To Be True
It feels great that a company is fast-tracking you, contacting you within an hour of applying, and doesn’t require an interview or checking references. But as the saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
What To Do If You Received The Mercer Recruitment Scam Text
Do Not Provide Your Sensitive Information
No matter how legit a prospective job offer looks, do not provide sensitive information like your DATE & YEAR of birth, Social security number, or bank account information.
Do Not Click on Any Link Contained in The Text
If the text or email contains a link, do not click on it as it could be malicious. Often times, hackers pose as job recruiters to gain access to their victim’s data. Clicking on the link might install a malware on your device that’d easily steal sensitive and confidential data.
Report The Scam and Create Awareness
The final step you should take is to report the Mercer Recruitment scam to law enforcement agencies in order to stop the scam and create awareness. You can do to the FTC via ReportFraud.ftc.gov or Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Conclusion
Like The Elgan Pharma Scam, the Mercer Recruitment scam is a job recruitment scam that uses high pay to trick job seekers into paying a fake ‘equipment fee’ and revealing their personal information. Don’t fall for it!
When approached by a job recruiter either online or offline, the first thing to do is research the company and the job opportunity. Find the company on the internet and review their online presence, including their social media. Enter the company’s name and the word “scam” on search engine to see if the business is legitimate.
