Job seekers warned of employment scam

MOSES LAKE — The email looked legitimate – at least at first.

It was a job offer, and referenced the resume Tiffany DeLeon had posted on the WorkSource website. It seemed to come from Cigna, a major insurance company. But a second look, DeLeon said, convinced her something was wrong.

And something was – it was an attempt at fraud.

Cigna is a popular target at the moment for scammers – the company’s website warns potential employees, and the Washington Employment Security Department issued a fraud alert in September.

“Unfortunately, there is no real way of knowing where the scammer got the resume,” said Bill Tarrow, deputy communications director for WESD. “The scammers always say they got the information from a credible place/site, like WorkSource.”

Resumes posted on WorkSource are supposed to be available only to companies that have gone through a registration and screening process. “Cigna Healthcare does not have a registered job posting account” with WorkSource, he said.

DeLeon said she suspected something was up, and did her research, checking the Cigna website among other steps. But she kept playing along, she said, to see what would happen. Eventually the scammers emailed her that she had been hired, and would receive money as an advance.

“Ding, ding, ding,” said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. In most scams the victim is asked to cash the check and send some of the money to the scammer, or sometimes to a third party. “That’s suspicious right there. There is no reputable employer that is going to ask you to do that,” Foreman said.

DeLeon took the right step when she began researching as soon as she got suspicious, Foreman said. Anybody who suspects a scam “really needs to do their due diligence.” Scammers are going to do everything they can to make the scam look legitimate, he said. “Due diligence is key.” Anyone who suspects they may be the target of a scam should do research into the company, into any email addresses, anything that seems suspicious. In the meantime, job applicants should be very guarded with any personal information requested.

Birth dates, Social Security numbers, driver’s license or ID card information should be kept confidential until the job seeker is certain it’s a legitimate job offer, according to information from the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.