How I was scammed during my job search for UX/UI Designer position!
SCAM ALERT — Sharing my experience!
I am very shocked that this kind of scam happens in the USA! Last week, I was approached via email by Patrick Mer (careers@bigfishsgames.com) inviting me to schedule an interview with @Bigfishgames after going through my profile and background. Currently being in the job market, I get emails from recruiters frequently and decided to schedule an interview without thinking too much into it. Patrick later sent me a pdf going over the job briefing and how to schedule an interview with my assigned interview manager, Mike Cox.
The instructions told me to download an app called “Wire app” and connect with @mikecox on it. Mike sent me a message right away on the Wire app and told me that a screening will be conducted here via chat. This is when he asked me 10–15 questions related to my past experience and UX/UI designing. After the questionnaire, he said they will get back to me. He did make me fill out a form stating that I allow them to perform a background check on me which only asked for my name and signature.
Then this week on Monday, I receive a phone call from Patrick Mer saying that he is the HR director and they went through my chat with Mike Cox and think I will be a good fit for the UX Designer role at Big Fish Games. He hired me and sent me an appointment letter right away. He asked me to sign the appointment letter and send a copy of my utility bill and driver license to verify my identity.
Then, Patrick told me to talk to Mike about the onboarding process. Mike told me I will need to purchase an iPad, MacBook Pro, printer, and headphones for this job from their vendor who will give me a discounted rate. He said all that will be reimbursed on my first paycheck next week. All this information was in there document that they sent me.
The way Mike was communicating with me seemed very professional and I was very excited to land a full time role as a UX/UI Designer. In excitement, I started to make the payment. First, he had me purchase the Ipad and for that he said they accept either Zelle, Venmo or Apple Pay. I told him I only have Zelle and he told me to send the money to Hayley Cercy (haylezc92@gmail.com), their vendor. Zelle only allowed me to send $500 maximum since it was my first time sending money to Hayley. I still had to pay the remaining money for the ipad by the next day. But, for some reason, Mike kept on getting really anxious and kept on asking if I can pay through cash app or get an apple gift card and all. This made my suspicion grow more that this is a SCAM.
I got in touch with the legal team of Big Fish Games (@Sam Shaddox) and they clearly told me that this is a phishing scam and these people are not affiliated with Big Fish Games. I also did a reverse image search of the picture that Mike Cox was using on the Wire app and found another profile on LinkedIn with a different name but same picture.
I have been searching for a full time position for a while now and was really desperate to accept this offer when it came to me. Now I know if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is not true. I am hurt by this and shocked that this happened.
I am sharing this story so this does not happen to anyone else. Be careful!
** Checkout the attached screenshots! **
