I got a message on LinkedIn about a job, it seems legit. The issue is as soon as I replied, she basically told me to apply as quickly as possible because it’s time sensitive.
I don’t know why this kind of rubs me the wrong way, I guess because I’m in a different time zone and I’m expected to literally drop everything for a job I might not even have an actual chance for.
Also she is the person who I would be working with, my potential future boss, and also the co owner of the company.
Am I overreacting? It just seems unnecessarily stressful idk. Also I’m very afraid of red flags now cause I ignored them at my last company and it was a nightmare.
Edit: I responded and asked some basic questions about the timezone/hours, and if applying in the next few hours would be ok, and she hasn’t responded in over an hour. Now I’m wondering if I should even bother applying :/
Rushing your decisions is a common red flag in scams. I’d say it’s probably enough of a red flag to stop talking with them. You can try to slow play things and if they continue to hound you then it’s almost certainly a scam. They’re probably going to do something like:
Ask you for money to purchase things you’ll need for your job (MLM/pyramid scheme)
Give you a large cheque, ask you to cash it, give a certain amount of the cash to someone, and keep the rest for yourself (cheque fraud).
I’m not really as worried about it being a scam, as I am about it being a toxic work environment idk … I’m very nervous
I am a potential employer. Speaking on behalf of only myself, there are two reasons I may feel inclined to rush an applicant. If the unfilled position is causing hardship on operations or other team members (Like having someone having to fill the spot while I search) or if the intended start date falls towards the end of a current pay period. Because if the new hire doesn’t have paperwork done by then it can slow down payroll for all of us.
I learned very quickly not to rush folks out of desperation, but honestly sometimes that does happen. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a terrible place to work. In my case our labor market is lacking viable applicants. It can sometimes take weeks or months before finding even a good interview. If I have somebody that hates overnights, but is working them to cover for a recent loss then you bet I will be motivated to fill the spot ASAP. It takes emotional control to make sure that doesn’t turn into rushing the applicant.
These may not apply to your situation, but that’s my two cents.
Thanks. Unfortunately I think she’s just trolling me at this point.
Dang, this reminds me of how genuinely helpful /r/Scams is and how we could develop an equivalent, thriving community here on Lemmy.
Anyway, vet the company and have a friend read the messages, or share them here. Do not do anything involving money (you should only be gaining it, not having to part ways with it), and the app sure as heck shouldn’t ask for your SSN at this time.
How to avoid getting scammed:
- DO NOT SEND MONEY
- DO NOT ACCEPT MONEY OR CHECKS
- DO NOT GIVE CREDIT CARD DETAILS
- DO NOT OPEN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT WHILE SOMEONE IS CONNECTED TO YOUR DEVICE
- CALL THE INSTITUTION THAT THE OTHER CLAIMS TO BE AND VERIFY THE INFORMATION THEY PROVIDED
- DO NOT PAY FOR SOMETHING YOU KNOW IS STOLEN OR ILLEGAL TO PURCHASE
- BE AWARE OF COMMON SCAM SCRIPTS AND TACTICS
- IF YOU FALL IN LOVE ONLINE, MEET THEM IN PERSON
- DO. NOT. SEND. THEM. MONEY.
ALSO DO NOT SEND COPIES OF ANY DOCUMENT bank-card, passport, driving licence, not even from your librarycard
Instructions unclear. Sent them dick pics.
It’s not a good idea to send them pictures of your face. They can use it for identity theft.
DO NOT ACCEPT MONEY OR CHECKS
And don’t send it back if you were forced to receive it and they demand it back, like via Venmo or Zelle.
She hasn’t asked for anything suspicious yet, I’m more so worried it’s a toxic company and they won’t treat me well :/
Oh, so you think it’s legit and the company just sucks. Yeah, that’d be nearly as bad. What about reviews on Glassdoor or elsewhere?
I couldn’t find any. Just on some random website there were like four 5 star reviews. Either way she ghosted the fuck out of me so Im not going to apply. Absolutely pathetic how desperate she was to then ghost me
Almost sounds like she was trolling you!
Yepppppp… she just added me on Facebook a few hours ago, I accepted immediately and she didn’t say anything 💀
Seems she’s literally trolling or insane or all of the above. Wtf is wrong with people I feel like I should block her. Tbh she just looks like an evil person
Why is she adding you as a FB friend? Isn’t this work-related? I might not have accepted the request if I were you, but since you did, you may as well message her on there and ask what the next steps are.
I mean she still didn’t respond to my questions lmao … should I ask them again? Man this is weird
It’s either a scam or a hellscape.
Why not both 😃 ngl the job description seemed a tiny bit… PACKED if you will
Would it hurt just to talk? Maybe they can justify the rush. If you do, keep asking yourself “Will I be able to shake off that negative feeling further down the road” (Personally, if it doesn’t feel right then I would not do it. I always trust my gut feeling)
Idk, I responded to them with some basic questions and it’s been 40 mins and they haven’t replied… and I’m supposed to rush to apply still? I don’t know…
I got a message on LinkedIn about a job…
You can stop right there. That’s all the red flags you need.
Ive gotten real jobs this way.
Same, 2/3 of my most recent jobs came this way … doesn’t mean it’s not a potential red flag though
If the job is in the orange area, it’s likely a scam
If it’s in the red area, it’s very likely that you’ll get your papers taken from you, then sold to slavery (scam farms, casinos etc…)
Image: https://imgur.com/a/ZZ1VqTI
Not in those areas lol
Sounds to me like she put her cards on the table and gave you a nice bargaining chip when it comes time to discuss compensation.
I’m not great at reading between the lines. What’s the bargaining chip in this case? 😅
It’s time sensitive - she needs someone to fill this position right now. If it’s so time sensitive, she might be willing to pay more than she normally would to get someone to do so.
She said the pay is stated by me, and then she discusses it with the client to see how much they’re willing to pay basically
She said the pay is stated by me, …
“Hurry and apply immediately” and “You determine the compensation”? Fucking run. There is no way that’s not a scam.
I men she’ll probably get back to me and be like “the client said the most they can do is 18 an hour”
Anyway she hasn’t even responded to my attempt at basic communication so I won’t be applying cause I don’t want to work for someone like that
I just came across this posted elsewhere. Sound familiar at all?
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/03/i-spoke-to-a-task-scammer-heres-how-it-went
Well based on the job description it doesn’t sound this way, but who knows what’ll happen
“you determine your own pay” is also a common MLM/pyramid scheme flag.
They may have a strict period when they are accepting applications. No idea about your employer but it happens quite often with public bodies and large corporations.
It’s more of like a small business/start up type of thing, but I guess they want to find the solution (employee) quickly for their client.
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maybe they just really need the help?
I mean… Idk it’s still sus. I’m leaning more towards they’re too picky and want the perfect candidate. The economic area they are based in is begging for job openings. I’m suspicious tbh, like what’s the catch?
