Internet “Employment” Scams Jeopardize Both Employers and Prospective Employees

By David N. Schachter

Sherman & Howard's Intellectual Property Department has recently become involved in combating a new fraud scam taking place over the Internet - one that seems to be epidemic in proportion.  This advisory discusses Internet employment scams and how you can protect your own company's intellectual property and avoid unwarranted claims from third parties.

WHAT IS GOING ON?

The fraud pattern involves an identity theft scheme that preys on people looking for work at a target company.  It is happening within U.S. borders as well as in Europe and Africa.  The fraud typically assumes one of three scenarios:  (a) operation of a website with a name similar to the target company's name, that contains direct copies of the company's screen display content and appears to be authentic, but which posts fake job openings; (b) placement of bogus job listings for a target company on Craigslist and other similar sites; or (c) individuals contacting people who have posted their resumes on monster.com, fraudulently representing that they are responding on behalf of the target company, and usually "spoofing" their email address to make it look as if it is coming from some other source.

In each of these scenarios, the perpetrators lure an unsuspecting job seeker into believing that they are potentially a candidate for being hired.  In most cases, the victim is given a seemingly authentic interview or, through other means, is led to believe that he or she may be hired.  The "sting" then occurs when the victim is persuaded to provide personal identity and financial information as part of the hiring process.  While there are other scenarios, they all seem to follow this basic pattern.

WHO DOES THIS IMPACT?

Companies whose reputations, names, web content or trademarks are used in these scams are probably not implicated legally should the victim suffer any financial damage.  These companies may, however, find themselves exerting time and energy responding to victims, working with law enforcement, pursuing other legal courses of action and otherwise addressing possible reputational damage caused by such scams.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The first and most important step is to monitor not only your company's own website but other possible uses of your company's name in fraudulent websites.  Google or other Internet searches, using both your company's real name and possible misspellings of your company's name, are one way to monitor whether bogus sites are in operation.  Secondly, pay close attention to whether you are receiving unsolicited inquiries from third parties about potential or actual job offers for positions that are not open or do not exist.  Third, above all, aggressively pursue available criminal and civil remedies that may increase the likelihood that these operations are put out of business.  We are actively in touch with federal, state and international law enforcement authorities to provide them with the necessary information they may need to conduct investigations and, where appropriate, take necessary actions.  In addition, if you are interested in discussing the civil remedies available to you, please contact Sherman & Howard's Intellectual Property department immediately if any such information comes to your attention. We are pursuing multiple civil courses of action against these perpetrators, including filing abuse claims with website hosts, as well as takedown demands, cease and desist communications and other efforts. 

We hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions about this Client Advisory, please contact David N. Schachter.

©2010 Sherman & Howard                                                              August 9, 2010