If the job listing that you’re considering promises pay that is far above industry standards that is often a red flag for scams. If it feels too good to be true it most likely is when it comes to job applications.

Scammers prey on candidates using luring titles such as “No Experience Required” with exceptionally high pay. For example, a remote digital marketing specialist position that pays $80 per hour is probably a scam.

This kind of manipulation isn’t just happening in job postings—AI-driven search results can also make scams appear more legitimate, as detailed in my recent blog post on AI in search results.

Something that I don’t see talked about enough is how unprofessionally communicative these scammers are!

The job descriptions themselves are often very vague. It’s as if they don’t even know what they want you to do. They hire you for this extremely high paying, no experience required, mystery role.

However, should you get your hopes up and apply to a position like this, it does happen to the best of us (it’s me, I’m the best of us), the individual on the other end will immediately begin reaching out to you and never in a traditional manner.

They often contact me via text message or Gmail. They have always been very eager and pushy. They want me to begin work before signing anything. I also noticed that they never proofread anything before they send it. There are many typos. I find this ironic because in many of the positions I apply for in the industry, editing and proofreading are a requirement.

Now we’re here in the nitty-gritty with this scammer okay. They have reached out in the most vague and unprofessional manner leaving you feeling like you dropped the ball somewhere.

I had an experience recently where I was given an alias name and a random website with no connection. The individual I was SMS text messaging couldn’t even send me a business card or LinkedIn profile to prove his identity. He threatened to pull the offer when I “questioned his credibility”. Okay Mister.

At this point things are getting fishy and the main focus is get them to clarify their company, identity, and details of the job role. If they can’t do that then that’s another red flag.

Legitimate employers will never charge fees for training or upfront out of pocket “executive purchases”. It doesn’t matter if you are promised reimbursement or not. This is a tactic used to take advantage of job seekers and the only way to avoid it is to refuse to pay anything before finalizing employment. Please, don’t sign anything without doing your research first either.

Important Detail: When you’re applying for jobs, it won’t explicitly ask for “x” amount of funds. It will state that you need to pay for something in particular to obtain employment. Such as training materials, certification fees, specialized equipment, etc. The reimbursement they promise will never happen.

Lastly, this is the one that broke the camel’s back for me personally. These scammers will try to pressure you. They make you feel like you’re going to miss out if you don’t act fast enough.

It begins as a feeling of earning your place and quickly turns into being taken advantage of. They will instruct you to stop everything you are doing. They will ask you to spend your money and make hasty decisions. They urge you to act quickly to avoid being replaced, while in reality, you won’t be compensated at all.