Kids in Need of Defense’s (KIND) employment practices include a commitment to ethical recruitment: KIND maintains a “no fees” recruitment policy. KIND will never ask candidates for money or charge fees as part of the application process.
Candidates should be mindful and wary of any recruitment scams in which nefarious actors try to take advantage of job seekers by pretending to represent prominent organizations, such as KIND.
What is a recruitment scam?
Recruitment scams are a form of fraud in which nefarious actors pose as recruiters or employers, offering attractive employment opportunities that require the job seeker to pay them money in advance, or disclose personal information. Scammers claiming to be representatives of KIND or another organization pretend to recruit potential employees. Scammers often ask for money from applicants under the guise of helping them to secure work permits and visas, travel expenses and/or out-of-pocket expenses.
Scammers may use fake websites, unsolicited emails, calls or texts claiming to be from the organization. The scam communication often entails seeking personal data and may ultimately request money transfers in the pretext of finalizing the “application process” or “employment opportunity.” Unsuspecting applicants may even be invited to participate in fraudulent interviews, be asked to fill-out fraudulent employment paperwork, and/or receive fake offer letters.
Tips to avoid becoming victim to a recruitment scam:
Any solicitation should be researched before you provide personal information.
- Be cautious: Refrain from immediately opening attachments or clicking on links in emails.
- Do your own typing: Use a search engine to look up a website rather than clicking on and following a suspicious link.
- Don’t respond: Refrain from responding to any emails or calls that request personal or financial information.
- Use security software and update it regularly.
- Report: File a report with law enforcement on any suspicious emails, calls, or texts you may receive.
By making you aware of these fraudulent schemes, we hope to keep you from being victimized, and ultimately to stop these schemes from being perpetrated against others.
Warning signs
Scams typically involve the following approaches:
- Using the Internet, local newspapers, or other print materials to advertise false job openings;
- Using cell-phone numbers rather than office numbers;
- Requesting applicants to send their application, resume, or CV to an illegitimate email address or fax number;
- Requesting that applicants wire funds to a bank account or send money electronically to cover processing and/or immigration fees, insisting on urgency;
- Missing information about a specific job opening (or the job description is vague) and/or extend a job offer without an interview; and/or
- Requesting sensitive personal data or information, such as your national identification number, date of birth, social security number, national insurance number, bank account information, passport information or any number appearing on identity documents.
Scams usually involve the usage of illegitimate email addresses created to mislead you to believe the communication is authorized by KIND. For example, supportkind.careers, supportkind@google.com. Sometimes they include misspellings of the organization’s name.
@supportkind.org is the only official and legitimate domain from which you will be contacted.
What you SHOULD DO if you have been targeted by a recruitment scam.
If you receive any communication concerning employment opportunities with KIND from an email domain other than @supportkind.org, the communication is not authorized by KIND.
You may contact us directly and ask to speak with the Human Resources department to confirm the authenticity of any employment-related communication. For more information regarding employment opportunities at KIND and the job application process, you can visit https://supportkind.org/join-the-team.
You may wish to contact your local police department and provide them with all information you have on the perpetrators. You should save messages from the perpetrator for further investigation if necessary.
What you SHOULD NOT DO if you have been targeted by a recruitment scam.
Do not respond to the unsolicited offers of employment from organizations, or email domains with whom you are unfamiliar. Do not send money to any source with whom you are unfamiliar. Do not disclose your personal and financial information. Cease all communication with the perpetrators if you believe the communications to be fraudulent.
What should you do if you gave scammers your personal information/money?
We encourage you to contact your bank and your local police department if you believe you are the victim of a recruitment scam. Since this is a criminal matter, potential remedies require the involvement of law enforcement, civil authorities, or other parties that have the authority to deter such crimes.
If you have given personal information to suspected scammers, monitor your financial accounts and credit report for suspicious behavior. In the U.S., if you believe your identity is at risk of being stolen, you can file a report with the Federal Trade Commission and/or local law enforcement. Outside the U.S., you should contact the data protection authority for your country or region.
Having fallen victim to a scam, you may receive more emails, phone calls, or mail that could also be malicious. If you do receive a phone call or piece of mail regarding an account or pending account, search for the phone number of the organization to research its legitimacy first.
Any suspicious phone numbers should be blocked, and any mail should be disregarded and thrown away.
What does KIND do to prevent this?
Recruitment scams are now a global concern that span across all industries. Fraudulent employment postings, emails, and other false communications continue to increase across the internet. Scammers have learned to adapt their tactics to maximize their effectiveness. The best weapons against these threats will continue to be education and awareness.
KIND is also a victim of recruitment scams since the organization name continues to be misappropriated to camouflage these scams. We will continue to maintain ethical recruitment practices and help raise awareness about these pervasive tactics. We want to help your job search go smoothly.
Helpful links
In the United States:
Federal Trade Commission – Recruiting Scams
Reporting suspected identity theft to the FTC
In the EU:
http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/article29/item-detail.cfm?item_id=612080