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Braintrust upholds talent safety and provides various features such as secure payments and verified profiles to help you work safely and protect your money. Despite our continuous efforts to eliminate scammers, some sneak in due to their evolving tactics. By staying vigilant and reporting any suspicious activity, you play a crucial role in maintaining a safe community for everyone on Braintrust.
Recognizing the Modern Scam
The online world isn't just for honest people; scammers are also looking for ways to make money by tricking others. Learn about their tricks to stay safe.
Safely Navigate Business Transactions on Braintrust
Braintrust has several protections, including in-app messaging, proactive identification, and system-based alerts to identify possible fraud. We also have a team that monitors the job postings to remove bad actors as soon as they are spotted. But please continue to raise anything suspicious to our support team support@usebraintrust.com so that we can remove bad actors swiftly. In addition, follow these key steps to ensure that you remain safe when looking for work on Braintrust:
Only accept an offer on the Braintrust platform
Fraudulent employers frequently ask for personal information and completion of offers outside of official platforms so they can circumnavigate built-in safety mechanisms. Braintrust is unable to provide protections to talent who leave the platform in order to conduct business.
Report any suspicious employers or job postings to our support team
If you see a job posting or employer that looks suspicious or receive suspicious messages from an employer, email our support team (support@usebraintrust.com), who will manually review the information provided. If our support team determines that the account has violated our terms of service, we will remove them from the platform.
Use on-platform messaging
Fraudulent employers may try to conduct business via personal emails or phone lines. We encourage talent to only use official platform channels for communication. In some instances, organizations may use emails to book interviews or independently vet talent. Ensure that you only use professional lines of communication and alert Braintrust immediately if you feel that a scam is taking place.
To safeguard yourself from potential job scams, watch out for the following red flags:
- You are asked to provide credentials for your Braintrust account.
- You are asked to sign an offer off-platform.
- You are asked to not communicate to Braintrust about the offer in place.
- You are being asked to perform work without an offer or contract.
Always remember: if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Safeguarding your Online Presence
Beyond Braintrust, having your personal information online can always lead to sticky situations so it is critical that you know to protect yourself. Here are ways to avoid scams, along with our recommendations:
Use Strong, Unique Passwords
Ensure each online account has a unique and robust password, consisting of a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and symbols. This reduces the chance of unauthorized access.
Setup Two-Factor Authentication (2fa)
Implement 2FA for online accounts where available. It adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second piece of information beyond just a password, such as a texted code.
Implement 2fa in your Braintrust account today!
Skeptical Browsing and Communication
Be wary of unsolicited communication, especially if they request personal or financial information. Verify sources before clicking links or downloading attachments.
If a prospective employer asks for you to contact them outside of Braintrust, use this template to keep the conversation on platform:
“Hey, thank you so much for considering me for your role, I was very interested in your project for these reasons {include reasons}. I would like to keep our conversation in-platform to ensure I don’t lose track of it until after the offer stage.”
Secure Wi-Fi and Browsing
Use secure, private Wi-Fi networks for sensitive transactions and avoid public Wi-Fi for banking or shopping. Consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) for an added layer of protection.
Personal Information Guard
Don't share personal or financial information unless it's essential and you're certain of the recipient's legitimacy. This includes Social Security numbers, bank account details, and other sensitive data.
If a Braintrust employer reaches out asking for any personal information, please do not share it and contact support@usebraintrust.com right away. Also, you can turn your profile private here to keep certain details of your profile private.
Educate Others
Share your knowledge and lessons learned with the community in Career Help to help us all stay top of mind!
How to Report a Scam on Braintrust
You can report a scam to Braintrust by emailing support@usebraintrust.com with the following:
- Link to the company profile or their name.
- Your reasoning for why you think they are a scam.
The more details you share the better!
What Happens after you Report a Scam
Braintrust takes scams extremely seriously and we will act on it right away. Our team will review the scam report and make the following decision: remove the employer from the platform immediately or reach out to the employer if more details are needed.
Examples of how we would process reports
Scam report: The employer immediately emailed the talent after they applied for the role and hired them with no interview, explaining that they will pay the talent on Paypal.- Result: Immediate removal from the platform as this breaks Braintrust’s Terms of Service.
Scam report: Employer creates a poor Job Description.
- Result: Braintrust hides the job from talent while we reach out to the employer to provide additional support on enhancing the job description.
- Result: Braintrust reaches out to the hired talent and employer to learn more. If an employer fails to meet with us or presents questionable responses, we immediately remove them from the platform. Then, we reach out to the talent to inform them of the update.
Digital Self-Defense
Securing oneself in the virtual world goes beyond just having firewalls and antivirus programs; it includes being aware, vigilant, and taking proactive measures. Ensure you are equipped with the right tools to counteract the modern scam when you are online. If you come across a fraudulent scheme on Braintrust, please immediately contact support@usebraintrust.com for further assistance.