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How to Avoid Fake Recruiting Scams

by Josh Kirschner on May 30, 2019

You receive a personalized email from a recruiter claiming to be filling a senior level executive position and you could be the perfect candidate – too good to be true? It probably is. There are a variety of fake job and recruiting scams going around that offer no opportunities except to separate interested candidates from their cash.

How the job recruiting scam works

There are multiple flavors of the scam, but the general process is the same. You get a personalized email from a “recruiter” filling a senior level spot. The email will suggest that they got your name through a referral and that you have just the credentials they’re looking for (even though they haven’t interviewed you or gotten any information from you yet). In some cases, the scam may originate on legitimate job sites like Indeed.com. Here is an example of an email I received in November, 2018 (note that it is nearly identical to emails others received with a different recruiter and company name):

Hello Josh,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am senior executive recruiter at ProRecruiting Solutions Inc.  and our client has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

P.S: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Best Regards,

David Miller
Senior Executive Recruiter
ProRecruiting Solutions Inc.
http://www.prorecruitingsolutions.com
1450 Broadway 7th floor,
New York, NY 10018, USA

If you research the company, you may find a well-constructed website listing their credentials, recruiting team, etc. But don’t be fooled. Anyone can set up a fake website. The ProRecruiting Solutions website claims the company has been in business since 2007, yet the site only went live in August, 2018, a couple of months before I received the email (both the site and phone number are no longer active, but you can see an archived version here). To help support the myth, should you choose to research the company further, they even put out a press release touting their growth (also in August).

Some recruiting scams will go so far as to create fake LinkedIn profiles of their executives, which can be spotted because they have few connections (real recruiters generally have 500+) or endorsements. In the case of ProRecruiting Solutions, I could find no professional information about the supposed principals, which is a big red flag for a recruiter.

The email also has suspicious indications, which you can find if you’re more technically inclined. While the From address is david@prorecruitingsolutions.com, the email was sent via Sendy.co, a newsletter app that “makes it possible for you to send authenticated bulk emails at an insanely low price”. Unlike many other newsletter services, Sendy is self-hosted, so a scammer would not need to provide credentials for an account with a hosted service, like ConstantContact or Mailchimp, who would also be quick to kick anyone off the service they suspected of sending spam emails.

Version 1 - the resume review scam

Once you respond back to the email with your interest, the scam will go one of two ways. In one version, the recruiter will claim there is a “problem” with your resume and ask you to upload it to a purported resume review site.  These sites charge a fee of around $10 to review your resume, at which point they will tell you why your resume needs to be redesigned to work with company applicant tracking systems and show off your skills, which they will be happy to do for an extra $150 and up. If you go for the resume service (or choose to opt out), the recruiter will then sadly inform you that the job you were supposedly in line for has fallen through.

Version 2 - the pay for interview scam

The second version of the job scam, perpetrated by one of the largest recruiting scam operators, has cost consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. In a complaint filed by the FTC, after the job candidate responded to a fake recruiting email sent by the defendants (who were operating under a variety of aliases, including Worldwide Executive Job Search Solutions LLC, WWEJSS, Seven Figure Careers, 7FigRecruiters, 7FC, Finnburg Switzer, ResumeterPro, Creating Job Opportunity, Confidential Jobs Only, CJOnly, and CJO Private Equity, PrivateEquityHeadhunters.com LLC, PE Headhunters, Private Equity Headhunters, and PEHHS.COM LLC, all owned and operated by Craig Chrest), they were included on an email string that had the name of the hiring company and the hiring partner’s name and email. Candidates who researched the company (usually a supposed VC or private equity firm called Agile Capital, Rock Hill Capital, or Sienna Ventures) found a website (also fake) confirming the information.

And then scammers set the hook. According to the FTC, “…to move forward with job placement services or to land an interview, the defendants required consumers to sign a contract and pay an advance recruiting fee of between $1,200 and $2,500. Consumers then got a purported job interview by phone with the hiring partner of the company – often identified as Agile Capital, Rock Hill Capital, or Sienna Ventures.”

As with the resume scam, once the interview was done, the job disappeared due to a “change in the company’s business plans or hiring needs.” And if you considered complaining about this treatment to anyone, the contract you signed contained non-disclosure language that threatened a penalty of 10x the recruiting fee (up to $25,000, in this case) if you discussed what occurred.

Thankfully, these guys have finally been shut down by the FTC, but others may be operating using the same tactics.

Version 3 - the advance check payment scam

This scam seems to be originating out of job boards, such as Indeed.com. After you apply for a position on the site (often one that offers a suspiciously high salary and benefits), you get an email congratulating you on being hired for all the details on your fabulous new job. They even arrange to send you a large check for your first month of work, which you happily deposit into your bank account. The only catch is that they ask you to send them money orders (or even iTunes gift cards!) so that they can purchase uniforms or other equipment that you need for your job. Or, the check includes money for the clients you'll be working with, so they ask you to wire funds to the accounts for those client. Shortly thereafter, you get a notice from your bank that the check you deposited is fraudulent – there is no money, your account gets frozen, you owe bounced check fees and whatever money you sent to the company or "clients" is gone forever.

How to avoid falling for a job recruiting scam

I spoke with Don Zinn, Vice President, Executive Search at boutique recruiting firm StevenDouglas, to get his take on what is legitimate for recruiters to ask of candidates and how you can recognize when you may be getting scammed. And, together, we developed these tips for recognizing when a job pitch may not be on the up-and-up.

  1. Recruiters should never be asking for money. Period. Paying a referral fee is not a legitimate practice at all – the client always pays the fee.
  2. No one is going to tell you you’re perfect for a job or put you in touch with a company without interviewing you first. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  3. Ask the recruiter “What do they know about the client? What do they know about the opportunity? What is the time frame for hiring?” If they can’t give you clear answers, something isn’t right.
  4. Recruiters should never ask you to sign a contract or non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before an interview. And if they ask you for your social security number or banking account information, run the other way.
  5. Research the recruiters. Do you have connections in common on LinkedIn? Do they have a detailed professional profile other than on their own site? If you Google them, are you finding complaints on scam warning sites?

Zinn says that even if the recruiter is legitimate, “There is no barrier to entry to be a recruiter. You should be picky and choosy about who you work with. You don’t want people who are going to take your resume and send it to 300 people – especially if you are working. Tell the recruiter before they send your resume to anyone, you want to know who they are sending it to.”

And I’ll just leave you with Zinn’s advice above, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Author's Note 8/14/19: I just received an email with identical text as in the article above, yet from a different name and recruiting company (see below). If you go to the TQ Recruitment website About page, the pictures of the supposed team are identical to the photos of the team on another recruiting site, FS Recruiting, but with completely different names.

FS Recruiting TB Recruiting team

Also, the contact phone number for TQ Recruitment 877-373-2279 (not in service) is the same as that listed for a now de-active website for a TB Recruiting. Complaints about TB Recruiting go back to at least 2017.

If you receive a similar recruiting email, please post in comments below to help people identify the company and recruiter names being used in these scams.

Hello Josh,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of TQ Recruitment Inc. and our client has retained us to fill various C-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate. 

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

P.S: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees

Best Regards,

Greg Berry
Senior Executive Recruiter

TQ Recruitment Inc.
www.tqrecruitment.com
54 W 21st St Suite- 260 - 4th Floor
New York, NY 10010

[Image credit: job interview via BigStockPhoto]


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Discussion loading

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From P Nicholson on October 15, 2020 :: 3:10 pm


What a bunch of scumbags:

https://execsearchpros.com/about-us.html

No LinkedIn presence whatsoever - crazy how these very senior serious recruiters don’t have LinkedIn profiles.

Reply

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From Antoinette on October 21, 2020 :: 1:51 pm


Hi all,

So I fell for the scam via
Frank Brearley (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) and sent my resume over for consideration. The next email was the one saying I needed to make my resume ATS compatible for the ow ow price of $30…

SO, what happens to my info? My name, address, phone number and professional history are on my resume. Has anyone ha their identity stolen or spoofed since falling for sending off their resume?

Reply

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From Bill Campbell on October 24, 2020 :: 11:24 am


I received an unsolicited email from “Mike Anderson” followed up by “Charles Dennis”.  Unfortunately, my resume was incompatible with Top Tier Hiring, Inc.’s software.  I did due diligence and found their NYC website.  Unfortunately, Mike & Charles don’t have Linkedin profiles.  Later I remembered that this sam scenario had happened 18 months earlier. Thanks for your well written article! Much appreciated!

Reply

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From SC on October 24, 2020 :: 5:45 pm


Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Sara Warren and I am an Executives Search Director in RF PE Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,

Sara Warren
Executives Search Director
+1 (917) 633-8650
RF PE Recruiting
32 East 32nd Street Murray Hill
New York, NY 10016
https://rfperecruiting.com/

Reply

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From John on October 29, 2020 :: 2:19 pm


Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Darlene Stewart and I am an Executives Search Director in PE Recruiting Inc. a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B
Best Regards,
Darlene Stewart
Senior Executive Recruiter
+1 (917) 633-8650
Private Equity Recruiting Inc.
745 5th Avenue, 5th Floor
New York City, New York 10151
https://perecruitinginc.com/

Reply

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From Merete on November 01, 2020 :: 6:15 am


I just got one from “Top Tier Hiring” as well:
Hello,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of Top Tier Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Mike Anderson
Senior Executive Recruiter

Top Tier Hiring Inc.
http://www.tthiring.com
1385 Broadway 7th Floor Suite 709
New York, NY 10018

Reply

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From c-stoodent on November 09, 2020 :: 9:43 pm


My name is Frank Brearley, I am a senior recruiting director at Asp Recruitment Inc. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I believe you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client, and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $3.5 Billion

Best Regards,

Frank Brearley

Senior Recruiting Director

AspRecruitment.com

Reply

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From Holly on November 10, 2020 :: 10:25 am


I saw this site and I had sent my resume over. Before his next reply I told him I need him to send me $5000 so I can be able to apply to the job! HAHHAHA i doubt he will respond.

Reply

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From Anna B on November 12, 2020 :: 11:42 am


Hello XXXXX,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SE Recruitment Agency. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.
If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.
Best Regards,
Chris Kelly
Senior Executive Recruiter
SE Recruitment Agency Inc.
http://www.serecruitmentagency.com
118 E 28th St Suite 403 -
4th Floor New York, NY 10016  


Sadly I sent out my resume. Feel like such a doofus.

Reply

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From Steven J Jungman on November 30, 2020 :: 2:21 pm


Hello Steven J. Jungman,

My name is Frank Brearley, I am a senior recruiting director at Asp Recruitment Inc. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I believe you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client, and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

 

Company Size: $3.5 Billion

 

Best Regards,

 

Frank Brearley

Senior Recruiting Director

AspRecruitment.com

Reply

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From J on December 01, 2020 :: 6:37 am


Hello xxx,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SE Recruitment Agency. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Chris Kelly
Senior Executive Recruiter
SE Recruitment Agency Inc.
http://www.serecruitmentagency.com
118 E 28th St Suite 403 -
4th Floor New York, NY 10016

Reply

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From MA on December 03, 2020 :: 10:33 am


Got the following email.  I see website registered last month, but website claims doing business for last 30 years. Sent an email to GoDaddy where it is registered .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  Sample email below.

__________
We are still having the same issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through optimisedresumes.com and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Tuesday next week and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Wednesday next week. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.

Best regards,

Geoffrey Gill
Senior Executive Recruiter

VP Hiring Inc.
http://www.vphiring.com
150 W 28th St 5th Floor -
Suite 705 New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Michelle Reed on February 18, 2021 :: 3:36 pm


SAdly, I paid the $99 for the ATS optimised service (I should have realized this was not the correct spelling).  I should have listened to my intuition when I noticed they don’t have their phone numbers on the emails or their website.

Reply

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From Josh Kirschner on February 18, 2021 :: 3:41 pm


You can try to dispute the charge with your credit card company. Also, I suggest reporting this to the FTC in the hopes they will investigate these scams and help get them shut down.

Curious, what was the follow up from their end after you paid the money?

Reply

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From Michelle Reed on February 18, 2021 :: 3:50 pm


I received communication and the optimized resume from Optimised Resumes so it is hard to dispute when they did provide the service.  However, I sent the ATS optimized resume to SC Headhunters and sent 4 follow up emails and they never responded.

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From Anon Ymous on December 03, 2020 :: 5:14 pm


Hello ______,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of EliteX Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Stephen Merchant
Senior Executive Recruiter

EliteX Hiring Inc.
http://www.elitexhiring.com
153 W 27th St Suite 305 -
3rd Floor New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Robert on December 03, 2020 :: 5:57 pm


Same style and copy, obviously a real referral would be including names to get recognition and make a connection. Still you feel happy someone think you’re good. I would never ever send money but I totslly see why they do it - they get a lot of money doing it!

——

Hello Robert,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of EliteX Hiring Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Stephen Merchant
Senior Executive Recruiter

EliteX Hiring Inc.
http://www.elitexhiring.com
153 W 27th St Suite 305 -
3rd Floor New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From MEL on December 09, 2020 :: 11:05 am


Looks like a new site tied to this scam.

It appears that sphiring.com was first published in November 2020 and layered-designs.com was first published in November of 2019’

“We are still having the same issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through https://layered-designs.com and see if you can identify and fix the problem.
We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.
We have a call scheduled with the client on Tuesday next week and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Wednesday next week. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.
Best regards,

Peter Jensen
Senior Executive Recruiter

SP Hiring Inc.
http://www.sphiring.com
153 W 27th St 9th Floor -
Suite 905 New York, NY 10001 ”

Reply

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From Doug Preston on December 09, 2020 :: 11:24 am


Hello,

The role is aligned with your experience. Unfortunately, your resume does not parse correctly into the Candidate Management System. In order to move forward, I need your ATS compatible resume ASAP for the initial process. You may contact https://www.cresumes.com/ for ATS Compatible Resume.
               
For reasons of confidentiality and non-disclosure, I am not able to share any detail of the position or company with you at this time, unfortunately. I will check my schedule and let you know a few time slots for a brief phone call after the initial process.


Best Regards,
Adam Nubbe
Senior Recruiting Director
AspRecruitment.com

Reply

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From Elliot on December 09, 2020 :: 12:55 pm


Add Asp Recruitment to the list. Got this same email from Adam Nubbe.

Reply

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From MEL on December 09, 2020 :: 1:28 pm


Reply

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From Dean on December 15, 2020 :: 9:07 pm


I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of JK Recruiting Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Amanda Garland
Senior Executive Recruiter
JK Recruiting Inc.
http://www.jkrecruiting.com
122 W 26th St 6th Floor -
Suite 603 New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From terra on December 16, 2020 :: 3:22 pm


Warning - Scam for SE

We just got off the phone meeting with the client. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart due to some conflict of interest. This is a surprise for us as we were under the impression that the deal was already completed and were expecting to get our retainer agreement signed today. There is another investor who is interested and we have already sent them an intro email, if they complete the acquisition we will try our best to get back on the project.
I really appreciate your time and interest and I am sorry about how this turned out and I hope you understand, this has nothing to do with your candidacy. This is just how these things work sometimes.


I will keep your contact information saved and will contact you if something similar comes up in the future.

Best Regards,

Russell Smith
Senior Executive Recruiter

SE Recruitment Agency Inc.
http://www.serecruitmentagency.com
118 E 28th St Suite 403 -
4th Floor New York, NY 10016
...

Reply

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From Alejandro on January 04, 2021 :: 11:34 pm


I just got this one. Website created only 54 days ago, also on godaddy.com.

https://whois.domaintools.com/jkrecruiting.com
——————————————

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of JK Recruiting Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Amanda Garland
Senior Executive Recruiter

JK Recruiting Inc.
http://www.jkrecruiting.com
122 W 26th St 6th Floor -
Suite 603 New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Wesley Maples on January 08, 2021 :: 11:33 am


Got the same one from Sara Warren at RF PE Recruiting.  Below is what I responded with…lol.

Hello Sara,

Your email needs to be formatted for me to be able to respond to it.  Please send $36 and I will format it for you.

Reply

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From K McBride on January 08, 2021 :: 1:11 pm


Executives Level Opportunities

Hello [K],

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of JK Recruiting Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

Amanda Garland
Senior Executive Recruiter

JK Recruiting Inc.
http://www.jkrecruiting.com
122 W 26th St 6th Floor -
Suite 603 New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Scam continues on January 11, 2021 :: 11:01 am


I received the following email from a scammer! No LinkedIn profile or pictures in their website, however phone numbers are the same with other scam artists! Despicable to do this during this tough times! people beware!!

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Sara Warren and I am an Executives Search Director in RF PE Recruiting, a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,

Sara Warren
Executives Search Director
+1 (917) 633-8650
RF PE Recruiting
32 East 32nd Street Murray Hill
New York, NY 10016
https://rfperecruiting.com/

Reply

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From More Scam on January 23, 2021 :: 11:57 am


I got an email and it sounded very similar to one I had received a few years ago. I must have deleted that one, as I couldn’t find it. However, the one I received back then didn’t direct me to a paid service. It was strange, but since no one wanted money, I wasn’t that concerned. This time, they recommended a paid service, which I didn’t use. I found a free ATS scanning tool and made some improvements. Then I got back a reply, which was a near identical situation to what happened a few years ago so I knew something wasn’t right. I thought I should post so others know what’s going on.
——

Hello XXX,

This email is in response to the resume you’ve sent to us. I am the team leader on this project and have received your information from Michael Robles.
We are having an issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through https://optimisedresumes.com and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Friday. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.

Best regards,

Peter Jensen
Senior Executive Recruiter

SP Hiring Inc.
http://www.sphiring.com
153 W 27th St 9th Floor -
Suite 905 New York, NY 10001

——

Hello XXX,
We just got off the phone meeting with the client. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart due to some conflict of interest. This is a surprise for us as we were under the impression that the deal was already completed and were expecting to get our retainer agreement signed today. There is another investor who is interested and we have already sent them an intro email, if they complete the acquisition we will try our best to get back on the project.
I really appreciate your time and interest and I am sorry about how this turned out and I hope you understand, this has nothing to do with your candidacy. This is just how these things work sometimes.


I will keep your contact information saved and will contact you if something similar comes up in the future.

Best regards,


Peter Jensen
Senior Executive Recruiter

SP Hiring Inc.
http://www.sphiring.com
153 W 27th St 9th Floor -
Suite 905 New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Amazigh Morat on January 23, 2021 :: 2:24 pm


I got an email and it sounded very similar as above:
Am Fr., 22. Jan. 2021 um 18:50 Uhr schrieb Michael Robles <michael@sphiring.com>:

Hello XXX,

I work with SP Hiring Inc. as a senior executive recruiter. We are headhunting experienced senior-level professionals for one of our clients to fill various senior-level positions in their recent acquisitions.

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm. Based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply to this email with an updated copy of your resume. I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Michael Robles
Senior Executive Recruiter

SP Hiring Inc.
http://www.sphiring.com
153 W 27th St 9th Floor -
Suite 905 New York, NY 10001

Reply

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From Sunil on February 02, 2021 :: 1:49 pm


This email is in response to the resume you’ve sent to us. I am the team leader on this project and have received your information from Amanda Garland.
We are having an issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through https://layered-designs.com and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Friday. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.


Best regards,

Kevin Keller
Senior Executive Recruiter

JK Recruiting Inc.
http://www.jkrecruiting.com
122 W 26th St 6th Floor -

Reply

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From DEENIE on February 16, 2021 :: 1:32 pm


I get one every 6 months or so.  Just got this today.  I post to warn others then delete.  U have not seen this fake company before, however, email is verbatim of several others.

Hello XXX,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SC Headhunters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions.

I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate. 

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.
 

Best regards,

Andrew Brown
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com
 

Reply

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From Michelle Reed on February 18, 2021 :: 3:45 pm


However, I responded to him and the “recruiter” handling this job sent me an email - Richard Carrier.  And he recommended to have my resume ATS optimized through the optimisedresume website.  Sadly, I paid the $99 to have it optimized and Richard never responded to me after four attempted emails I sent him with my optimized resume.  It is really upsetting on so many levels to have this happen to you when you are unemployed.

Reply

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From Felicia on February 18, 2021 :: 11:05 am


John Baker <john@toptalenthunters.com>
Thu, Aug 20, 2020, 6:02 PM
to me

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of Top Talent Hunters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best Regards,

John Baker
Senior Executive Recruiter

Top Talent Hunters Inc.
http://www.toptalenthunters.com
400 Madison Ave 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017.
...
from:  Tim Arnold <tim@toptalenthunters.com>


He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through layered-designs.com and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

Tim Arnold
Senior Executive Recruiter

Top Talent Hunters Inc.
http://www.toptalenthunters.com
400 Madison Ave 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017. 

Best regards,

Tim Arnold
Senior Executive Recruiter

Top Talent Hunters Inc.
http://www.toptalenthunters.com
400 Madison Ave 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017.

Reply

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From Jim Stewart on February 25, 2021 :: 2:58 pm


BEWARE BEWARE - looks like another resume rewriting scam to me….

Hello James,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SC Headhunters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Andrew Brown
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com

Reply

gravatar

From Josh Kirschner on February 25, 2021 :: 5:31 pm


I just received the exact same email from Andrew Brown at SC Headhunters. Typical scam site - stolen pictures of real people and stock images de-colorized to make it harder to reverse image search, execs have no professional profiles, no phone number for the company, been in business since “1990” but domain registered less than a month ago…

SC Headhunters also shares a website template and a lot of the same language as vphiring.com that, not surprisingly, also has B&W photos of “team members” - James Dickson, Jorge Guerra, Geoffrey Gill, Colleen Hayes - taken from stock images and was registered a whopping 107 days ago, despite having been founded in “1992”.

Reply

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From Lance on March 05, 2021 :: 8:22 pm


Hello Lance,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SC Headhunters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Andrew Brown
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com

Reply

gravatar

From Tatiana Rheaume on February 25, 2021 :: 7:22 pm


I received the following email and called the number they provided no one ever answers in addition they offered a contract, no one ever responded.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) via sendgrid.net
Wed, Feb 17, 6:54 PM


Dear Job Seeker,
My name is Nicole Leman, and work as HR Operations Manager.
The recruiting team found your portfolio at the job seekers data bank that is why we get in touch with you.
Would you like to build up a new career? Our company always gets the most inspiring, interesting and amusing positions. We have several positions coming in, that might suit your portfolio:
• Business Assistant
• Customer Service Representative
• Online Account Manager
• Operations Manager
There is probably one that fits you right. All of them contain a bunch of projects: challenging ones, big and small ones, exciting ones and many more – all whilst giving you the opportunity to grow. Both as a person and in the company. Please indicate this in your reply, and I’ll provide you with more information about the wanted position and about our company.
Sincerely,

Nicole Leman
HR Operations Manager,
Outsourced Associates & Staffing, LLC

Reply

gravatar

From James Stinson on March 17, 2021 :: 6:47 pm


I received the same email, is it fake offer/news?

Reply

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From J C on February 26, 2021 :: 12:14 pm


This email is in response to the resume you’ve sent to us. I am the team leader on this project and have received your information from Andrew Brown.
We are having an issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check your resume through https://optimisedresumes.com and see if you can identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Tuesday next week and I will try to make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on Wednesday next week. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.


Best regards,
Richard Carrier
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com

Reply

gravatar

From Mike Hickman on March 05, 2021 :: 3:50 pm


Same email as shown above.  Generic website, nothing on LinkedIn.  Googled and found this page.  Perhaps I will reply simply to mess with them.

Mike

Reply

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From RK on March 10, 2021 :: 1:00 am


I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SC Headhunters Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Andrew Brown
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com

Reply

gravatar

From PK on March 11, 2021 :: 12:21 am


All,

Got the same email from SC Headhunters. I was suspicious as the email went into my spam email and the website link at the bottom of the email did not work.  Further their website has the linkedin birdie at the bottom but does not take you to their page. The website looks professional and can through you.  I did some googling and found this site.  Thank you for posting and I hope my info above helps others.

Regards,

PK

Reply

gravatar

From irishmasms on March 11, 2021 :: 2:26 am


Subject:    New Executives Level Opportunities
Date:    Mon, 08 Mar 2021 14:57:31 +0000 (UTC)
From:    Andrew Brown <andrew@scheadhunters.net>
Reply-To:    Andrew Brown <andrew@scheadhunters.net>


Hello [REDACTED],

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new
opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SC Headhunters Inc. Our
client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of
their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent
sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a
very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email
with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the
recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Andrew Brown
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com


The follow up:

————Forwarded Message————
Subject:    Re: Executive Level Opportunities
Date:    Tue, 09 Mar 2021 15:21:01 +0000 (UTC)
From:    Richard Carrier <richard@scheadhunters.com>
Reply-To:    Richard Carrier <richard@scheadhunters.com>
To:    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) <obrien.timothyg@gmail.com>

 

Hello [REDACTED],

This email is in response to the resume you’ve sent to us. I am the team
leader on this project and have received your information from Andrew
Brown.

We are having an issue with your resume. I asked my colleague and
apparently, it is a common issue. He instructed me to ask you to check
your resume through https://optimisedresumes.com and see if you can
identify and fix the problem.

We can open the file without any issues but the problem is with the way
information in your resume is structured and formatting used which is
resulting in a lot of missing information in experience fields when your
resume is parsed by the candidate management systems. Please check your
resume and try fixing the issue so we don’t have to manually type
everything in our candidate tracking system.

We have a call scheduled with the client on Thursday and I will try to
make a brief introduction. I am available for a call anytime on
Friday. Let me know a time that works for you and I will give you a call
to discuss the next steps and in the meantime please try to get your
resume issue fixed so our timing is not affected.


Best regards,

Richard Carrier
Senior Executive Recruiter

SC Headhunters Inc.
http://www.scheadhunters.com

Reply

gravatar

From Venkee on March 16, 2021 :: 10:22 am


Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Darlene Stewart and I am an Executives Search Director in PE Recruiting Inc. a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B
Best Regards,
Darlene Stewart
Senior Executive Recruiter
+1 (917) 633-8650
Private Equity Recruiting Inc.
745 5th Avenue, 5th Floor
New York City, New York 10151
https://perecruitinginc.com/

Reply

gravatar

From Josh Kirschner on March 17, 2021 :: 11:44 am


This looks like a different group, based on the way the website is set up, or maybe it is the same group of scammers trying a new approach. In this case, it appears Private Equity Recruiting stole the entire website of Harvard Group International (http://www.hgi1.com/index.html), which is a real executive recruiting firm.

Reply

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From Nancy D on March 22, 2021 :: 7:40 pm


I’ve had three now. One just yesterday and one today. The one from yesterday was on Indeed and the fake employee used a real company, a medical center in Key Largo FL, for a fake job. The second is listed here several times already, from Darlene Stewart with Private Equity Recruiting. Amazing how real they made it look.

Reply

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From Ted Kuziela on March 23, 2021 :: 4:36 pm


https://slerecruiting.com/about-us.html
Hello Ted,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SLE Recruiting Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Kimberly Ellis
Senior Executive Recruiter

SLE Recruiting Inc.
http://www.slerecruiting.com

Reply

gravatar

From Ted Kuziela on March 23, 2021 :: 4:37 pm


Hello Ted,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Senior Executive Recruiter of SE Headhunters Inc. and our client has retained us to fill various C-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

P.S: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees

Best Regards,

Erik Knight
Senior Executive Recruiter

SE Headhunters Inc
http://www.seheadhunters.com


119 W 23rd St 5th Floor

New York, NY 10011

Reply

gravatar

From Trish on March 26, 2021 :: 10:53 am


Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Clay Martin and I am a Sr. Recruiting Specialist in PE Recruiting Inc. a reputable Global Recruitment Firm. I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities.

One of our clients has retained us to fill various senior level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested and want to learn more, please reply to this email with a copy of your resume as soon as possible. I will forward it, along with a brief introduction to the client and will contact you back to complete the NDA and get started.

Note: We are a retained search firm and get paid by the employer. You will not be asked to share any confidential information or pay any fees.

Company Size: $2.5B

Best Regards,
Clay Martin
Senior Recruiting Specialist
+1 (917) 633-8650
Private Equity Recruiting Inc.
745 5th Avenue, 5th Floor
New York City, New York 10151

Reply

gravatar

From liv Pty on April 06, 2021 :: 6:12 pm


On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 10:36:03 AM GMT-5, Kimberly Ellis <kimberly@slerecruiting.com> wrote:


Hello ,

I am reaching out to see if you would be interested in exploring new opportunities. I am Executive Recruiter of SLE Recruiting Inc. Our client has retained us to fill various senior-level positions in one of their recent acquisitions. I was referred to you by an outside talent sourcing firm and based on your previous experience at International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section (INL),  I think you are a very credible candidate.

If you are interested in learning more, please reply back to this email with an updated copy of your resume and I will connect you with the recruiter leading this project and schedule an introductory call.

Best regards,

Kimberly Ellis
Senior Executive Recruiter

SLE Recruiting Inc.
http://www.slerecruiting.com

Reply

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