Whenever money is involved, directly or indirectly, there is the possibility of scams. This includes the field oil recruitment. One of the most frequently seen oil job scams involves the scammer sending an email to a desperate job seeker. Unfortunately, this is how legitimate businesses operate. So how do you know if the job offer you received is real or fake?
A usual piece of advice before a possible oil employment scam is going with your gut: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” This may be valid if you are a veteran of the oil industry, but rather useless if you are new to the field of oil employment. Just a year or two ago, there was a big dispute at a major job board regarding the correct pay scale for a major oil company. Some oil rig veterans claimed a certain number, while another group of veterans claimed half that number. Unfortunately, both parties presented strong evidence to back up their claims.
However, using the following 10-point checklist gives you a better guide to your decision:
1. Did you attend a face-to-face interview for this job?
In most cases, employers will not hire you based on a phone interview alone. The exception is when your friend who is already working at that company recommends his boss. But then you don’t need to read this, right?
2. Did you apply for this job?
No oil rig company will email you an unsolicited job offer.
3. Is this work offered as a foreign publication?
Most scams involve overseas postings that are difficult to verify. A scammer will not email you a job offer within easy traveling distance.
4. Is this a job in Nigeria? Or is the recruiter based in Nigeria?
While this may be unfair to legitimate Nigerian businesses, a disproportionate number of scams come from Nigeria. Unless you have a trusted contact who can check things out for you, it’s safer to decline Nigerian job offers.
5. Are they asking you for money (directly or indirectly)?
A real job offer will pay you, not the other way around! A scam will ask you to pay various fees, for example, paperwork fees, administrative fees, visa fees, air ticket, bribes, etc.
6. Search for the company name and/or job title on Google.
What do other people say? If many people (in forums, job boards, etc.) say that the job is a scam, then it probably is (a scam).
7. Check out the Better Business Bureau for Canadian and US oil rig companies.
Search the BBB website for the company offering you the job. Also check the recruitment company that is sending you the email. While not all legitimate businesses are listed in the BBB database, it will give you useful information to work with.
8. Check the company website.
Not all real companies have websites. But if the job offer email lists the website, you should visit it.
- Is the website working?
- Is the website one page or many pages? A real company website usually has many pages.
9. Check company email.
You want to see the “Reply To” field of the emailed job posting. Ask your email provider how to do this: Yahoo Mail settings are different from MSN Mail settings, which are different from Google Mail settings, etc. A real company will not use a free email address. If the “Reply To” field says “[email protected]” or “[email protected]”, it’s definitely a scam.
You’ll also want to compare the “Reply To” field with the “From” field. Both should show the same email host (See the part after the @ sign). For example, “From: [email protected]” and “Reply-To: [email protected]” may be legitimate, since they are both from “XYZ.com”. In some companies, their policy is to set the “From” field to the same address, while the “Reply To” field shows the individual employee. However, “From: [email protected]” and “Reply to: [email protected]” is probably a scam. Consider the different email hosts: XYZ.com vs. ABC.com.
If the company website is listed in the job posting email, check the website address against the email server address. They should be similar, for example, the website is XYZ-OilCompany.com while the “Reply To” field says “[email protected]”.
10. Are you asked for confidential information?
There’s no reason anyone should ask you for sensitive information like your credit card number over email. Other sensitive information includes your bank account number, social security, driver’s license, even your date of birth. This is information commonly used for identity theft.
So should you or should you not respond to the job offer? Following the checklist will help you make a good decision.