It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, “identity theft” might be taking that admiration a bit too far. Let’s introduce you to “PE Executive Hire” and their CMS resume formatting scam.
Recently, our CEO Rebecca Hager’s name was used by a phishing site to lend credibility to a data mining miscreant masquerading as an Executive Search firm called “PE Executive Hire”. They set up a website and cited “Rebecca Hager” as their head of recruitment and added just enough biographical detail to make the ruse seem plausible. Additionally, they used the name of another legitimate recruiting professional and manipulated that person’s details as well.
“PE Executive Hire” then sent out numerous emails to job seekers asking them for their resumes, indicating there was an opportunity related to their experience. We’re not entirely sure what the end goal of this data mining was, but numerous people were sent fake emails care of “Rebecca Hager”.
Fortunately, there were several job seekers who read the false outreach emails and thought to do a bit of digging. They searched for “Rebecca Hager” online and could only find her at Hager Executive Search. They wrote to us and explained what they had experienced with “PE Executive Hire” and were kind and cooperative enough to forward those emails so we could research who this scam artist truly was.
We’re happy to report that the fake website “PE Executive Hire” was banished from the internet by their domain host about 72 hours after we were made aware of the scam.
Unfortunately, we know this is neither the first nor last instance of a scammer attempting to mine data and defrauding people of their information. But we’d like to assist any job seekers who receive similar emails to be able to spot the tell-tale signs that an outreach email is not legit. Here are some things to note:
Trust but Verify
The people who received fake Rebecca’s emails were wise to investigate. If you receive a cold outreach email, it’s a good idea to conduct a quick search of Google and Linked In to determine who exactly is sending the message. Any time you receive an email that seems suspicious, copy it and put it into a Google search. Many times, you’ll discover that no such person or email address exists.
Read the Details – If There Are Any
We’ve obtained a copy of the outreach email from one of the phishing scam recipients. Let’s read through it and cite some of the “flags” that show up in the text.
Greetings,
(First flag: No personalized greeting. They know you’re a great match for a job, but they don’t know your name? Unlikely.)
I trust this note finds you in good health and spirits. My name is Rebecca Hager, and I serve as an Executive Search Director at Private Equity Executives Hire Recruiting Firm, a leading recruitment agency with a worldwide presence. I’m reaching out to you today to share an exciting career opportunity that matches your skills.
Here’s a wealth of data to put into Google to ascertain who this is and where they work. Note the firm’s title. “Private Equity Executives Hire Recruiting Firm”? Very odd sentence structure. And the email came from is PEexecutivehire dotcom.
We’ve been tasked by a prestigious client to find a suitable candidate for a leadership position (Chief Cook & Bottle Washer) in a recently merged department of their company. Our search process highlighted your outstanding achievements through a reputable agency, making you a strong contender for the role.
Major flags here. Zero detail about the client’s industry and the parentheses around the “job” indicate it’s probably pulling the title from a separate database. When companies merge departments (which is odd in itself), they would then have ‘duplicate’ talent that results in a layoff, not a search for an additional executive. And the vague description of “your outstanding achievements through a reputable agency” is a giveaway that this person knows nothing about you or your achievements.
If this position interests you, could you please send us your most recent resume? After receiving it, I’ll provide more details about the position and walk you through our initial formal steps, which include signing a confidentiality agreement.
And here’s the focus of the scam – getting you to send your resume so they can data mine your information – and try to charge you for reformatting your own resume. When you receive a vague email that’s lacking specifics, you can bet that it’s not from a legitimate executive search consultant. No reputable search firm would ask you to send a resume in an email before having a conversation with you regarding your interest in the role and engaging with you to ensure that your background and the opportunity are in alignment. Nor will they share your resume with anyone without your permission to do so. And they’ll never charge you a fee for any part of the process.
To make things clear, as a recruitment firm, we cover the costs of our services, so you won’t have to pay us directly. Also, your privacy is our top priority, so we won’t ask for any personal information that could be considered intrusive.
Here’s where they attempt to gain your trust. No, they don’t want anything but your resume – so they can steal your information.
Best Regards,
Rebecca Hager
Executive Search Director
Private Equity Executives Hire Recruiting Firm
No phone number on the signature. No link to the website which has a different name.
The PE Executive Hire Scam Continues
But the ruse continues. One of the talents who alerted us followed up with “PE Executive Hire” and received the following email in response:
Hello Greg Lamboy,
Your experience is aligned with the role, but your resume is not ATS-friendly. Kindly adapt your resume to be ATS-friendly as I need it asap. For creating an ATS friendly resume, please visit https://cmsatsresumes dotcom/
For now, precise details about the role and our client are under wraps due to confidentiality protocols. Once we align our schedules, I’ll shed more light on this. I’ll review my calendar and circle back with potential timelines for our continued discussion.
Regards,
Rebecca Hager (this was in a different font from the original text – another red flag)
CMS Resumes is an ongoing scam
And now we know the truth. Apparently, this scam has been going on for awhile and yet the CMS Resumes site is still active, despite this having been continued for over three years – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beware-fake-recruiter-cms-resumes-alex-eckelberry/
When I emailed “Rebecca” directly to say I (under my pseudonym “Joey Bagadonuts”) needed to speak in real time, I, er, Joey received…
I’m unable to provide further details at this moment. For our initial client discussions, please forward your resume.
Regards,
Rebecca Hager (different font again)
So, there’s obviously a sentient criminal behind this scam, and they’ve been attempting this for years.
Conclusion – Protect Yourself
Forewarned is forearmed. Trust but verify. DO NOT share your information with someone whose existence you can’t verify. And any time you’re asked to pay a fee to complete an application, you can rest assured that the opportunity is a scam.
We were fortunate that several people who had been contacted by the fake recruiting firm recognized that the outreach was not legitimate and brought it to our attention.
We want to thank the people that brought this to our attention and hope that our efforts here will prevent other applicants / job seekers and executive search professionals from being harmed going forward.
What are your thoughts? Have you been approached by a similar scam?