A News 6 Investigation has found that most “at home” job openings posted on Craigslist are nothing more than fronts for job recruit impostors pretending to represent companies like Coke and computer security specialist Synopsys Inc. so they can steal your identity and bank information.
News 6 viewer Rachel Creech posted a job search on Craigslist and within minutes, she said she was inundated with inquiries from dozens of potential employers, the majority of which would only text, never talk to her.
During an interview at her home last week, texts rang out at least half a dozen times from bogus recruiters.
One recruiter actually claimed to be “hard of hearing” to avoid talking to Creech.
Another recruiter, claiming to be Jan Collinson of Synopsys Technologies, offered Creech a job just minutes after her online interview.
The recruiter email included a photograph and appeared legitimate.
Creech was told her hours would be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday with a salary of $450 a week, according to the email.
News 6 confirmed the photo in the email was a match for the real Jan Collinson, vice president of human resources for Synopsys Inc., not Synopsys Technologies.
During a phone conversation Monday afternoon, Collinson confirmed she had nothing to do with the
job offer to Creech and that Synopsys Inc. never posted openings on Craigslist .
“Absolutely not,” Collinson told News 6. “We’ve taken proactive steps on our careers page asking people to verify if they’ve been contacted by a recruiter from Synopsys.”
Collinson said she had been contacted twice before advising her an impostor was using her identity on Craigslist.
The Synopsys website lists tactics used by job recruiter impostors:
• Uses an email domain other than synopsys.com
• Interviews you online and/or via text/instant message
• Provides you a job requisition number that cannot be verified on the synopsys.com Careers page
• Asks for your bank account information so he/she can deposit a check
To verify that the communication is legitimate, please send an email to staffing@synopsys.com”
Creech said she has received offers from real estate companies, even someone claiming to be with beverage giant Coke.
On Monday, she received an inquiry from a recruiter claiming to represent Alma Bio Therapeutics.
If you have been contacted by a company impostor contact Investigator Mike Holfeld at mholfeld@wkmg.com