Is That Recruiter Legit?

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

EP 3121 Job scams are now a $2 billion annual industry, and scammers are using real company names to steal your identity and your savings.

• 00:00 — Introduction

  The hosts discuss the high stakes of the modern job market, noting that job scams now account for an estimated $2 billion in annual losses.

• 01:03 — The Modern Job Scam

  A breakdown of how scammers have moved past clunky phishing emails to sophisticated brand impersonation to steal identities or money.

• 01:53 — Know What’s Legitimate

  An explanation of the two types of real recruiters: Headhunters (external, commission-based scouts) and Corporate Recruiters (internal HR employees).

• 03:22 — Red Flag Checklist

  Specific warning signs to watch for, such as bad grammar, high-pressure tactics, and job offers that arrive without a single interview.

• 04:45 — The SSN Question

  A deep dive into the “gray area” of Social Security Numbers. While you should never give a full SSN, it explains why some legitimate agencies ask for the last 4 digits to track applications in their systems.

• 05:45 — Verification Toolkit

  A step-by-step investigation process: scrutinizing email domains, checking LinkedIn profiles, and calling the company’s official phone number.

• 07:12 — Final Takeaways

  The “Trust but Verify” mindset and a reminder that a real recruiter has nothing to hide and will respect your due diligence.

 

Jobs on the Rise According to LinkedIn in 2026

Welcome to This Is No BS Job Search Advice Radio. Today, we are getting into something so, so important for anyone looking for a job right now. How in the world do you tell the difference between a real recruiter and a fake one? Because let’s be honest, in this market, it is way too easy to fall for a scam.

So let’s break down exactly what you need to be looking for. You know, trying to find a job these days can seriously feel like you’re walking through a And yeah, most of the job postings out there are totally legit. But the scams? They’re getting sneakier, more sophisticated, and they’re popping up on sites we trust, like LinkedIn and Indeed.

That means we have to be on our toes now more than ever. Because just seeing a familiar logo doesn’t mean an opportunity is safe. And the stakes here are unbelievably high.

Just look at this number. According to the Better Business Bureau, we’re talking about an estimated 14 million people getting hit with job scams every single year. And that leads to a mind-blowing $2 billion in direct losses.

This isn’t just a little problem, it’s a huge criminal industry that preys on people when they need a break the most. So what does one of these modern job scams even look like? Well, with everything going on in the economy, scammers are really cashing in on people’s anxieties. They are way past those old clunky phishing emails.

Now, they’re impersonating real, big-name companies, using their logos, using their branding, all to build this fake sense of trust so they can steal your personal and financial information. So what’s their endgame here? What are they really after? Well, it’s pretty simple and pretty awful. They might be trying to flat-out steal your identity with these fake applications.

Or they’ll try to get you to pay advance fees for background checks or equipment that don’t even exist. Some of the craziest scams turn you into part of the crime, having you reship packages bought with stolen credit cards. Or they’ll send you a fake check and trick you into sending them real money.

The bottom line is this, every single move they make is designed to take something valuable from you. Okay, so to get really good at spotting a scammer, first we have to have a super clear picture of what a real, legitimate recruiting professional is all about. Once we nail down what the good guys look like, the red flags of the fakes will stick out like a sore thumb.

You’ve probably heard the words recruiter and headhunter thrown around, maybe even used like they’re the same thing. But there’s a really important difference. Just remember this little saying, all headhunters are recruiters, but not all recruiters are headhunters.

Think of recruiter as the big umbrella category. So, what’s a headhunter? Think of them like a special ops talent scout. They’re an external, third-party person a company brings in to find the perfect person for a really specific job, usually something senior or super hard to fill.

They don’t just post an ad and wait. Oh no, they proactively hunt for the best people, even if those people aren’t even looking for a job. And then on the other side, you’ve got the corporate recruiter.

Now this person is an actual employee of the company that’s hiring. They’re on the inside, usually part of the HR team. Their job is to fill all sorts of roles, but only for that one company.

And they’re really focused on things like cultural fit and handling the whole process from start to finish. Putting them side by side like this makes it crystal clear, right? A headhunter is external, works on commission and has a very sales-driven approach. A corporate recruiter is internal, gets a salary and is more focused on the HR side of things.

Knowing this helps a ton, because even though both are legit, they play the game very differently. Okay, now that we know what the real deal looks like, let’s get into the good stuff, the scammer’s playbook. These are the big warning signs that should make you slam on the brakes and do some digging before you go any further.

Often, the first red flags show up in that very first message. First, look at the email address. Is it from a personal account, like Gmail or Hotmail? That’s a little fishy.

The Modern Job Search

Look for bad grammar and spelling. Real recruiters know how to use spellcheck. Be super careful if they want to do official business on apps like WhatsApp.

And watch out for those high-pressure sales tactics or, and this is a classic trick, an email address that’s just one letter different from the real company’s name. Then, there are the red flags in the process itself. And here’s the biggest one of all.

You get a job offer without ever having a real interview. Think about it, a real company wants to talk to you, probably a few times. Also, be wary if they’re vague about what you’d actually be doing, or if the salary seems way, way too good to be true.

And this is the absolute dealbreaker. If they ask you to pay for anything, training, equipment, whatever, it’s a scam. Full stop.

This quote right here really says it all. This is the golden rule you have to burn into your brain. Real job opportunities don’t cost you money to get.

The company pays the recruiter, not you. Money should never, ever flow from you to them. If anyone asks you to pay up, you run.

Alright, now let’s wade into a grey area that trips a lot of people up. It causes so much confusion. And that’s the whole social security number question.

You know, when they ask for it early on. It can feel like a massive red flag. And, well, sometimes it is.

This is a question that comes up all the time. You’re on the phone, things seem to be going great, and then they ask for the last four digits of your social. Right away, your internal scam detector starts screaming.

So what is the deal with this? So let’s unpack this, because it’s tricky. Asking for your full social security number before you even have an offer? Huge red flag, no question. But it can be legitimate for a third-party agency recruiter to ask for just the last four digits.

Why? Because their big corporate clients use these giant systems to track applicants. And your last four digits act like a unique ID, so they don’t get your application twice from two different agencies. But here’s the key.

The Modern Job Search

They have to tell you exactly why they need it, and you should have already verified that they’re a real recruiter from a real agency before you share a thing. Which brings us to the most important part of this whole thing. Taking action.

You do not have to just sit there and hope for the best. Here is your own personal verification toolkit. A set of practical steps you can use to investigate any opportunity that comes your way.

It’s a simple, four-step process. First, play detective. Look up the recruiter and their company on LinkedIn.

Do they have a real profile with real connections and a history? Second, put that email under a microscope. Is the domain the official company one? Third, and this one’s huge, go to the company’s actual website and check their careers page. If the job they’re telling you about isn’t listed there, that’s a problem.

And finally, confirm everything. A quick Google search of the company’s name plus the word scam works wonders. And if you’re still not sure, find the company’s official phone number and just call them.

The motto for your entire job search should be this, plain and simple. Trust, but verify. It’s great to be optimistic, but you have to back it up with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Taking five extra minutes to check things out is your absolute best defense. And here are some specific free tools you can use. The Better Business Bureau is awesome for checking a company’s reputation.

We’ve talked about LinkedIn. Now, a Whois lookup is a little more technical, but it’s cool. It tells you how long a website has been around.

Scammers love to use brand new domains. And of course, never, ever underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned Google search. All right, let’s bring this all home.

Let’s wrap up with the mindset you need to job search with confidence, and most importantly, to stay safe out there. This right here is the ultimate test. A real recruiter from a real company has absolutely nothing to hide.

In fact, they’ll probably appreciate that you’re being so careful. But if you start asking questions and they get defensive or pushy or vague, that is your signal to just walk away. You are the one in control here.

I want to leave you with this final thought. A scammer can fake an email, they can fake a job post, they can even fake a name. But you know the one thing they can’t fake? A real company’s reputation, its history, its digital footprint built up over years.

Your job is simply to look for that evidence.

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