By Kira Rich
Editorial
When a job recruiter approached students on Winthrop’s campus offering positions starting at $22 an hour and paid training, ears perk up at the rare opportunity. Unfortunately for one student, the offer quickly turned into something entirely different, a pyramid scheme disguised as a hidden gem.
A freshman on campus who asked to remain anonymous expanded on luring tactics these companies use.
“They told me I would make money right away and that it would be flexible around my school schedule,” she said.
College students have become a major target for scams nationwide, and Winthrop students are no exception. Students easily accumulate bills between tuition, rent, and groceries, making a flexible and high-paying job a priority; however, this makes them extremely vulnerable to recruiters who know how to angle an opportunity. Scams range from fake job offers, phishing emails that look like they’re from a Winthrop account, and online ads guaranteeing quick cash with low effort.
Recruiters find ways to provide just enough information to get people interested while withholding just the right amount to make a profit off of students’ naivete.
“Every time I asked about what exactly I’d be doing, the more confusing it got,” she said.
Various tactics were utilized online as well as on campus such as, fake job listings, phishing emails that resemble Winthrop accounts, and social media ads that guarantee fast money with low effort.
WUPD Chief of Police Charles Yearta sent out an email to all students warning students about a possible scam in mid-September.
“The Winthrop University Police Department (WUPD) has been made aware of an individual who is walking through campus handing out solicitations in regards to student work,” Yearta said. “…Several students came to WUPD in order to report the suspicious activity. A preliminary investigation has uncovered that this company works with some other companies (CutCo and Vector Marketing) to sell cutlery on a door to door basis. In order to do that, the company first requires you to purchase the cutlery upfront at your cost. We have received reports over the year where this group directly and aggressively targets college students in order to sell their products, sometimes leaving the student with the bill for the products.”
Recruiters closely follow a script to make themselves sound more appealing to college students; they even go as far as noting training sessions and daily responsibilities during the job. But when pressed for specifics, the cracks begin to emerge. A quick Google search reveals that companies such as Vector Marketing, known for selling knives, have been portrayed as pyramid schemes.
“The recruiter even had flyers and talked about flyers as if it was a real job—it wasn’t until I looked it up that other people were warning about the same thing,” she said.
Campus police have sent out numerous emails warning students to be mindful of opportunities that seem too good to be true. It is recommended to verify all job offers through the university’s career department and avoid providing sensitive personal or financial information.
Not all scams revolve around jobs. Sometimes scammers slip between the cracks and end up in school related group chats where they attempt to sell fake tickets or other desirable items.
Taking the time to deeply analyze and fact check can limit the chances of being scammed by a shady offer that sounds like it could be too good to be completely true.
