How Can I Avoid Fraudulent Postings?

In the online world, fraudulent activity is an unfortunate thing we face from time to time. Bad actors (fraudsters) have become more adept at creating job ads which look legitimate on the surface, and can be hard to identify.

The safety of our users is our number one priority, which includes making sure you are aware of how to protect yourself and your personal data while looking for your next career opportunity! A key takeaway is, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Please take a moment to browse the following tips to avoiding fraudulent postings while utilizing the career center platform:

1. If an employer asks for any kind of banking information, or asks for money in any way, cease all communications with them and reach out to a member of our customer support team for assistance. We will work to verify the identity of the employer, and help to determine if it is safe to proceed with your conversation.
   
   
2. Beware of communication marked urgent, especially if they then ask you to continue the conversation via an avenue like a non-business email (Hotmail, Gmail, etc.), or via a chat app (like WhatsApp). Bad actors know job seekers are anxious for their next opportunity, and try to capitalize off of that by creating heightened emotional responses.
   
   
3. If an opportunity promises pay, benefits, and flexibility outside of what you are typically seeing for similar opportunities, proceed with caution.
   
   
4. If an ad is extremely vague, full of grammatical errors, and/or doesn't contain any branding for the organization, be wary. While some employers may need to post anonymously for privacy reasons, most will want you to know as much as possible about the organization to ensure candidates reaching out feel they are a good match for the company.
   
   
5. Pay careful attention to all links you follow. Check for hidden or disguised characters that are intended to redirect you to a malicious outside website. Typically you can hover over a link with your mouse and see the redirect URL at the bottom of the page without actually having to click on anything. This is easiest to do on a PC rather than mobile. 
   
   
6. If you receive an email from a domain that doesn't match either the association or YM Careers/Community Brands, do not follow any links, and forward the message to our customer support team so we can ensure that it is a legitimate email. 
   
   
7. If you see a posting that you believe to be fraudulent, contact our customer support team as soon as possible so that we can investigate and remove the posting if it is found to not be legitimate.

A big part of staying safe online relies on paying close attention and reaching out for assistance if you feel uncomfortable.

Our customer support team can be reached Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 7:00pm Eastern (UTC -5:00) by dialing [phone] (option 1), or via email at [e-mail].