ALERT: Current Scams To Watch Out For

Job Recruiter Impersonation

Job recruiter fraud is a scam by impostors posing as recruiters or representatives of a company promoting fake job opportunities to job seekers. The scam is conducted through online communication and affects all types of companies, regardless of their size, across the United States.

MassMutual understands the importance of your privacy. We will never ask job candidates to pay any kind of fee, make cash or check advancements, cash checks from outside sources, or make an investment in any product or service. We will never ask candidates to supply information, such as credit card numbers, banking PIN numbers, by email or online.

Please be aware that it is likely a form of fraud if you receive requests like the ones described below.

Current Fraud schemes include:

• Individuals posing as recruiters from the actual company.
• Creating fake recruiting pages or job postings on sites such as LinkedIn and Google Hangouts.
• Using different channels such as Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, or Skype to connect with potential victims.
• Contacting candidates for interviews and making fake job offers.
• Convincing candidates to buy home office equipment from a fake vendor website, requesting money via Venmo for license fees, or requesting a deposit ($300) before their company-issued laptop is issued.
• Sending checks to the victim as part of a money laundering scheme.

What to do:

Please contact us if your think someone is using MassMutual to seek this information from you.

Counterfeit Checks

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is aware that certain individuals may have received counterfeit checks with MassMutual's name or logo on them. Communication with potential victims varies and includes mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, telephone, e-mail, and overnight delivery services.

The counterfeit checks are often associated with the following:

• Sweepstakes, mystery shopper, participation in a paid consumer research program, proposed employment as a consumer service evaluator or other advance-fee schemes where the communications request recipients to send money in order to receive the prize or money promised.
• Merchandise sold over the Internet or through the mail where the buyers' checks exceed the agreed upon sales price and the purchasers instruct the sellers to send the balance back.

MassMutual is not affiliated in any way with these fraudulent activities or with the counterfeit checks, which have absolutely no value.

What to do:

If you are suspicious about any check you receive with MassMutual's name or logo on it, you can call MassMutual's Treasury Bank Reconciliation Unit at (413) 744-3330 to verify the check's authenticity.

If you discover that you received a counterfeit check or notification via mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service or telephone, consider filing a mail fraud complaint with your local Postmaster or directly with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at United States Postal Inspection Service.

If you discover that you received a counterfeit check via UPS, FedEx, or other non-Postal Service overnight delivery service and communications or solicitation have involved the Internet or e-mail, consider filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection - Consumer Information or with the FBI's Internet Crime Unit at Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

You should also consider filing a complaint with your local police department.

Please contact MassMutual's Special Investigation Unit with questions.