“Falling for a job scam is like climbing Everest. Except when you get to the top, you slip and tumble — rag doll, head to toe — all the way back to the bottom. And you know you’re in for some big trouble.”
This is how freelance creative director Myldwin Pierre describes his gut-sinking experience of falling victim to a job scam last year.
Myldwin’s Story
After months of job searching and multiple interviews, Myldwin got the offer of his dreams — a fully remote art director role with a Fortune 500 cosmetic company.
Everything about it was great — until it wasn’t.
Blinded by the allure of job security, Myldwin fell victim to a well-orchestrated scam which ultimately resulted in him divulging all of his personal and tax information to an imposter.
This scammer got through most of the standard checkpoints waving a green flag. And for the warning signs? Well, Myldwin admits he may have turned a blind eye in hopes of landing a great job.
That’s the thing with these scammers — they catch you when you’re the most vulnerable.
- In January 2025, 1,200+ members of our online creative community admitted to falling victim to a job scam requesting personal information or payment.
- According to recent data from the Federal Trade Commission, reported losses to job scams totaled more than $220 million in the first half of 2024 alone.
1. The Bait
Myldwin’s LinkedIn profile indicated he was “open to work.” When he received an InMail (direct message from someone outside of your network) from a recruiter, he wasn’t at all surprised. To check the legitimacy of the message, he confirmed the sender was a real recruiter by searching their profile on LinkedIn.
“[The recruiter was] actively engaging on the platform, and their profile showed their employer as the Fortune 500 company they stated they worked for via their message. Everything checked out,” Myldwin told us.
Green flag.
2. The Initial Bite
After a short email exchange, Myldwin was quickly offered a chat-based interview via WhatsApp without video. An interview on this platform raised some suspicion, but this was a multinational company, and he assumed this was their interview process. So, he didn’t question it and proceeded with an open mind.
“Speed is the name of the game in hiring, I know that. Rushing into the interview process didn’t alarm me,” Myldwin shared.
Green-ish flag.
3. The Trap Sprung
Myldwin completed multiple interviews with the supposed hiring manager — with frequent assurances that he was doing well, stating he was “in line to be offered the position.” Shortly thereafter, he was offered the job and rushed into a seemingly standard onboarding process.
Eager to start, Myldwin completed a stack of new hire tax paperwork, including an I-9 and a W-4, and sent it back. These forms include personal information such as complete mailing address, Social Security number, and employee signature.
“I believed this was a legitimate process,” Myldwin admitted. “I was excited to work for this company; I wasted no time getting those forms back to them.”
Green flag.
4. The Scam Revealed
Then, the alarms began to sound. After completing the onboarding paperwork, the scammer stated that all employees are responsible for paying for their remote workstation equipment up front via PayPal, but that they would ultimately get reimbursed.
RED FLAG!
5. The Realization
Worried, Myldwin retraced his steps. He noticed the email address provided in the initial contact via InMail was off. So, he messaged this supposed recruiter directly and her response put a pit in his stomach.
“That person you’re emailing with is not me,” she said.
The PayPal account where Myldwin was instructed to remit payment was not listed under the company name, and the username did not match the supposed recruiter he’d been communicating with.
It became abundantly clear that Myldwin was being scammed. And knowing that he handed over all his personal information to this stranger had him riddled with fear and frustration.
6. The Aftermath
Back on WhatsApp, he denied payment to the imposter and tried to push them to admit their fraudulence. They ultimately stopped responding and are now completely untraceable.
So there Myldwin sits, back at the bottom of the metaphorical mountain, with no job, hours of wasted time, and now completely compromised personal information.
Myldwin thankfully has not yet seen any signs of Social Security number fraud, identity theft, or financial loses. He watches his credit reporting like a hawk, hoping the scammer was ultimately just in it for the “workstation” PayPal payment, which he didn’t send. He hopes the exchange of onboarding paperwork was just more bait to get him to pay up.
“These scammers are like drug mules. They probably send messages, like the one they sent me, to hundreds of people. Not everyone falls for it, but a handful do get through. And the payouts from those folks are worth the effort,” Myldwin explained.
The Red Flags
Keep on high alert for an imposter — remember these warning signs.
You receive an unsolicited direct message, text message, or email.
Scammer messages appear to be written by a reputable recruiting company or brand. They’re usually incredibly convincing, encouraging you to apply for a high-paying job in an industry that closely aligns with your LinkedIn profile, and offers flexible working hours. If this unsolicited opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.
The email domain doesn’t match the name of company outlined in the email.
If the email is from a personal account or public domain, like Gmail or Yahoo, you might have a scammer on your hands. Sometimes the email address will have slight misspellings to appear legitimate — verify the email domain, and the name of the sender, carefully.
The job offer is time-sensitive.
Scammers create a sense of urgency to keep you engaged and make you act quickly. While there is a fast lane in hiring at times, don’t let anyone unverified rush you in the process.
The majority of communication is on a chat app.
Legitimate hiring teams should conduct interviews by phone or through traditional company channels. If your correspondence is being moved to a chat app, like WhatsApp, request a more traditional platform.
The hiring manager requests payment or banking information.
Honest employers will never ask employees to pay up front fees to process paperwork or pay for equipment. And they certainly won’t ask you to pay via a cash app like Venmo or PayPal.
Banking information should only be provided once you’re fully onboard, via a secure system.
The Learnings
It’s hard to find a job. And It’s tempting to latch onto any job offer that comes your way, but this is when you need to be the most vigilant.
Some of the biggest risks to your personal data are low-tech — no hacking necessary. The scammer reels in vulnerable job seekers and gains their trust, then those people willingly hand their information over, and it’s downhill from there.
Pause. Assess. Question.
Never share personal information like Social Security numbers, bank details, or other sensitive data without definitively verifying the source. Research the hiring manager and/or company first, and if you’re still slightly skeptical, respectfully and directly ask them to confirm their legitimacy while also reaffirming your interest in the position.
And always trust your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is.
For a safe and secure job search experience, Myldwin encourages job seekers — especially freelancers — to link arms with a recruiter they trust, “The saving grace for me is working with Creative Circle for nearly 20 years now.” Myldwin has worked with eight trusted Creative Circle recruiters over the years and has been placed on dozens of jobs. When our recruiters email Myldwin, from their verified email address (✅), he knows the offer is legitimate.
Information Creative Circle Asks For
Creative Circle does not send unsolicited text messages to job-seekers. We will never request you to provide personal information via a text message, email, or LinkedIn mail.
Additionally, Creative Circle will not send or request money to purchase equipment, or ask for your credit card information during the hiring process.
If you are contacted by someone that claims to be a recruiter for Creative Circle, ensure the domain is @creativecircle.com, @e.creativecircle.com, @creativecircle.live, @jobalert.creativecircle.com, @backofficeportal.com, or @mail1.clearlyrated.com. If it’s not, this communication did not come from our team and is likely imposter spam.
To further protect yourself from job scams, review this full list of information we do and don’t ask for. And if you’re ever skeptical about a communication or job offer from our team, contact us at cyberquestions@creativecircle.com.
About the Author.
Kayleigh is a Creative Circle freelancer — when she’s not chasing around her two young boys or laughing at Corporate Natalie videos, she spends her time creating content for us! She specializes in sharing advice for our talent community, so if you’re a creative with an appetite for blogs on market trends, job search guidance, and freelance life, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn to ensure you never miss the latest.
