Major game companies are worried about recruitment scams

The names Playrix, Zynga, and many more are used by recruitment scams. So what should you pay attention to protect yourself from scammers?
scam recruiters (2)
Zynga and Playrix warn against scammers.

The number of fraud cases is ever increasing; scammers, who recently promised to recruit using the names of large companies are at it again. Industry giants such as Zynga and Playrix warned people not to be deceived by such scam attempts.

In a statement on LinkedIn, Playrix said that external sources should not be trusted and they started their own investigation on the matter:

“Playrix has recently become the target of slander. False information about the company has been circulating by means of fake domains and impersonation of our recruiters. In light of this, please be aware that all correspondence with representatives of our company is conducted via “playrix.com” exclusively and no other entities.

We’ve launched an investigation into the matter and are hoping to put a stop to these defamatory actions as soon as possible.”

Playrix
Playrix is targeted by scammers.

One of the most popular methods frequently used by scammers is fake IDs. These scammers present themselves as recruiters or head hunters for major video game companies, phishing for your personal details. Their end goal is to engage in financial exchanges with the potential victims. They also try to establish trust by using addresses similar to the companies’ domain addresses.

Zynga also published a similar statement on the matter via its official LinkedIn account; the company warned job seekers across the world:

“We have become aware of a resurgence in recruiting scams whereby the scammers claim to be Zynga employees and reach out to individuals regarding the open job opportunities listed on our LinkedIn Careers page. The scammers lead targeted individuals to believe they are engaged in a genuine recruitment process with Zynga and in some cases request a candidate to purchase work equipment or engage in financial exchange with Zynga during the alleged recruitment or onboarding process. 

Please be advised that Zynga does not request upfront payment for equipment during its official recruitment or onboarding processes. We do not conduct job interviews over third-party messaging apps, such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. We will never ask you for your personal or financial information over unofficial chat channels. Zynga’s in-house recruitment team only contacts individuals via official company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com or naturalmotion.com email domain).”

zynga
Zynga uses only official communication channels in its recruitment processes.

Another common method used by scammers is to tell people that they have to pay for the equipment needed for the job upfront. Remember, companies do not charge employees for necessary equipment for the job during the hiring process.

How To to Detect Scammers

You may encounter scammers while you’re on a job hunt on digital platforms such as LinkedIn, Glassdoors, and others. In such cases, you can minimize your risk of being scammed by paying attention to some small details:

  • Pay attention to the email address.
    • Ensure that the email address you’re in contact with belongs to the company. Some scammers use free email services like Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo. The vast majority of companies have their own paid email domains.
  • Pay attention to the language used.
    • Corporate companies have more specific languages that they use in communication. A typical recruitment email from a major player in the industry will be clean, meanwhile, most scammers don’t pay much attention to such details, and you’ll often see typos.
  • Pay attention to the information requested from you.
    • Companies may ask you about your salary expectations, experience, and similar questions during the hiring process. However, no company will ask you about your current economic situation during the recruitment process and they won’t charge you for any reason. In addition, large companies do not use third-party intermediaries such as WhatsApp or Telegram during job interviews and prefer official channels.
  • Pay attention to the information given to you.
    • Companies that will be hiring do not hesitate to give you detailed information about the job you will be doing. On the other hand, scammers give evasive answers to the questions you ask, and illogical gaps may occur. It is important to ask questions when applying for a job.
  • Beware of unrealistic job offers.
    • Think twice about job offers that are too good to be true. If you receive job offers with a salary well above the market average, an overly easy job, exaggerated job opportunities, and similar features, you may be a target for scammers.
  • Beware of jobs that don’t have prerequisites.
    • Large companies have some prerequisites for job postings. If the job offer does not require prerequisites such as an interview, experience, education, etc., you should be very careful.

By paying attention to the basics above, you can significantly increase your chances of avoiding such recruiting scams.

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