Possible phishing scam masquerading as a job offer

[dwhyte h]

I answered a job post and during the interview on skype the client provided me a link (********* redacted to comply with forum rules) to the job details. However I became immediately suspicious because it showed a odesk login page that clearly wasn't on odesk.com. 

When I questioned that the link looked like an attempt to get my login info, the interviewer became evasive and eventually stopped responding.

this is the job I applied for: https:******************************. 

Has anybody ever seen or experienced anything like this?

[Setu M · Accepted solution]

Hello Dwhyte,

Yes I have seen a similar job post a few weeks ago. It is a scam designed to phish for your email and password. With that being said I hope you flagged the job immediately (possibly open a ticket to ensure its quick removal).

As a side note I think it goes against forum rules to post job details and links.

[dwhyte h]

okay, thanks for the heads up I'll edit my post immediately. I flagged it and tried to report it through live chat but the service rep cut me off

How can I help other members not to fall for this scam if I'm not allowed to link to the "job" post

[Setu M]

Yeah, that is a valid point. I had the same difficulty when I saw it the first time, since time is of the essence. oDesk had to issue notifications to all those who may have applied to change passwords etc. But that is way after the damage has been done.

A trick is to flag it as 'client requesting to work outside of odesk' and upgrade the ticket as 'unable to do work' - it gets immediate attention, which is what is required. The method may be frowned upon, but it saves irreparable damage that's likely to happen.

[dwhyte h]

Just got my notification from Odesk warning me about the phishing scam that I warned them about.  I'm guessing it goes to everyone who applied for the job, but you were correct, dozens of accounts could have been compromised by the time this email went out.

[Setu M]

Good that you were keen enough to spot it early. Sorry for all those who were affected by this posting.

By the way, that's an excellent profile you have going. Its a pity PM don't work unless a profile is private. Would give you a link off the air.

[Valeria K]

Hi Dwhyte,

Thank you for reporting. We will make sure the job and the client's account are reviewed and appropriate actions are taken.