Career Center & Student Employment

Fraudulent Job Postings

In addition to the hundreds of great opportunities from legitimate employers listed on Handshake, we occasionally see fraudulent postings. Despite our monitoring of incoming postings, it is very important to educate yourself about potential scams and fraudulent job postings from any source.

A common job scam involves the "employer" sending the student a check and asking the student to cash/deposit the check into her/his personal bank account. The student is then asked to purchase gift cards or write checks and mail them to the "employer" while keeping a portion of the money for herself/himself. Unfortunately, the company check then bounces and the student is responsible for the funds they have distributed. Students have lost thousands of dollars due to these scams.

Following are some good tips that a job is probably fraudulent:

  • The promise of a large salary for very little work, especially those that offer hundreds of dollars of income per month with little or no experience required (i.e. 10-15 hours of work pays $250-350 per week).
  • Jobs that ask you to send payment by wire service or courier.
  • Positions in which 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.
  • The email address used is Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.
  • In general, if a job offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

While there are legitimate opportunities for individuals to work from home, be sure to research the position in advance of applying. Do not hesitate to contact the employer.

If you suspect a position is fraudulent, please contact Megan Odom, Chico State Career Center Director immediately at modom@csuchico.edu or 530-898-5253. Additionally, if you believe you are the victim of fraud resulting from a job listing, please contact the local police.

Information is abundant on the web regarding tips to identify fraud. A general Google search is a good place to start. Below are two sites with more information:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0243-job-scams