Job Scams & How to Beat Them

I posted my resume on LinkedIn and within 24 hours the scammers found me. This page exists so it doesn't happen to you — or so you know exactly what to do if it already has.

How the scam works

1. The dangling carrot. An email about a role that fits you suspiciously well. "Confidential search." A salary range that gets your attention. They mirror your experience back at you — your equipment, your tickets, all of it.
2. The resume ask. Seems normal. But your resume carries your full name, phone, email, city, and work history — a starter kit for identity theft and targeted phishing.
3. The upsell. They tell you that you need fancy documents — a "Candidate Value Proposition Brief," an "Executive Impact Profile" — then refer you to a "specialist" who'll make them. For a fee.
4. The flood. Once your details are out, they get shared and sold. Expect several of these a day.

A recruiter who sends you to someone who charges YOU is getting a kickback or running a funnel. Real recruiters are paid by employers. Money flows from the company to the recruiter — never from the candidate.

Red flags

• The "executive recruiter" emails you from a Gmail address. Real firms don't do that.
• The pitch still has [COMPANY NAME] or [COMPENSATION RANGE] placeholders in it. They didn't even fill in the template.
• "Confidential opportunity" with no company name and no real details.
• Anything that manufactures urgency or asks you to pay for part of the process.
• Emails that land in your spam folder — Gmail is often right about these.

If your information is already out there

1. Put fraud alerts on your credit files. In Canada you must contact both bureaus — one doesn't notify the other:
   • Equifax: 1-800-465-7166
   • TransUnion: 1-800-663-9980
   In Ontario, ask Equifax for the Identity Alert — it legally requires lenders to phone you before extending credit. Alerts stay on for 6 years.
2. Pull your credit reports and read them. You're entitled to free reports from both bureaus. Look for accounts, inquiries, or addresses you don't recognize — and make this a regular habit.
3. Lock down your accounts. Change passwords on your bank, email, and anything tied to money. Turn on two-factor authentication everywhere — especially your email, the master key to everything else.
4. Expect them to come back wearing your details. They have your name, number, and work history, so the next call will sound legitimate. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card yourself.
5. Report it. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1-888-495-8501 (Mon–Fri, 8am–8pm ET), or report online. Your local police, if money changed hands.
6. Keep everything. Every email, screenshot, and date. If it becomes a formal case, the paper trail wins.

How HIVIS Resume works — and what we'll never ask for

Here's exactly how our process works, so you always know what legitimate looks like:

• You fill out our questionnaire or send your current resume — only the details that belong on a resume.
• We build your resume and deliver the finished PDF and Word files by email.
• That's the whole transaction. We will never ask for your SIN, banking details, credit card numbers, passwords, or any payment outside the stated price.

The best defense is a good offense

A strong, honest resume gets real employers' attention faster — so you're never tempted by the shady stuff. That's what we do here: resumes that get past hiring software and in front of real decision-makers, built on nothing but the truth.