Photo: Contributed

A job seeker who unwittingly sent her résumé and cover letter to scammers by applying for a job in Kelowna through Indeed.ca warns others to use caution when using the website.

"I found the job listing on Indeed that looked the same as any other, so I applied. A couple of days later I received an email from somebody saying they wanted me to follow this link to answer some questions," our source, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

"The email said they were excited to get to know me, and the next step is to fill out this survey. I started to fill it out and right away, I thought, 'they're asking for some personal information, and it doesn't make sense,' so at that point I felt there was something wrong."

Because scammers often use spoofed email addresses when setting up recruiter accounts on Indeed, they can capture the applications and show job seekers that they are responding through the Indeed portal, adding credibility to their approaches.

"What made it look legitimate is the scammer had my actual résumé and cover letter that I had sent applying for this job. I thought, 'they had this, so it must be the company I applied with.' I called the company and I asked them about it and they said that there was no such position, that they didn't post the ad, and that they never advertise on Indeed."

The job seeker immediately filed a complaint with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre with the email address of the scammer, but she has yet to hear back.

"I felt violated. I was concerned... who's got my application? If anybody else is in this situation, and the more people who complain, the more likely it is that the government will get involved and force Indeed to do due diligence," the job seeker said.

The owner of Wytek Direct in Kelowna, the company name used in the phishing attempt, said he was stunned to receive calls from prospective employees for a job he never actually posted on Indeed.ca.

"I was trying to get that listing removed. I don't even know how it got there. I had two or three people call. I was shocked when I saw that," said Mark Shier, owner of Wytek Direct. "They took it down the same day."

Scammers have become more and more sophisticated in their efforts to steal identities and data, said Karla Davis, manager of communications and public relations for the Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.

"The truth is it's gotten a little complicated because they have gotten really crafty about setting up elaborate emails and websites," Davis said. "They managed to trick Indeed to set up legitimate employer recruitment profiles and that's how they're getting access to the information that job seekers are putting out."

Davis said job seekers need to become investigators when using online resources to apply for jobs.

"The first thing you have to do is research the company that you are interested in getting a job with," Davis said. "Search them out on social media and see if the have an internet footprint. If you can't find them and they're not on LinkedIn, that's a red flag."

Davis also suggested a follow up phone call is a good bet to confirming the legitimacy of a job posting.

"Call the location they see being advertised," Davis said. "I would urge job seekers to be careful when you are putting up your information, especially when you leave it on sites like that. If you've found a job, take it down."

Another tip is to look closely at the actual email address used in the reply. If it doesn't end with @ and the name of the business, that's a red flag.

"Hover over the email address itself because a lot of the time something will come up to indicate that this goes to some other address," Davis said.

"If you see someone messaging you claiming that they're representing the human resources department and they have a Gmail or a Hotmail account, that's also a red flag. Most legitimate reps have the name of the company in the email address," Davis said.

Davis said Indeed has been very diligent in promptly removing fraudulent recruiter profiles that BBB has brought to their attention.