If you're a travel nurse, you're still in huge demand across the United States. Unfortunately, though, that also makes you a target for scammers looking to steal your personal info, money, identity, or worse. Here’s what to know about travel nurse scams, 10 ways to spot them, and 10 things you can do to protect yourself.
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Understanding Travel Nurse Scams: What to Know
What are travel nurse scams?
A travel nurse scam is when someone reaches out to you with a fake job offer. It could be a fake job, or a real one with a fake agency or recruiter. Either way, the idea is to trick you into giving up some personal information — especially your social security number or banking account info.
What are the different types of travel nurse scams?
While most are recruitment scams offering fake jobs (or real jobs from a fake recruiter), there are an increasing number of housing scams offering too-good-to-be-true rentals, usually requiring an immediate deposit or payment to get them.
How do travel nursing scams work?
Scammers usually pose as recruiters you don't know, and contact you unprompted. Email (called "phishing") or text, WhatsApp, and social media messages ("smishing") are the most common methods. The hook is that they've got a great new opportunity, but they need some sensitive info or a payment first.
What are the risks of travel nursing scams?
If successful, these scams can affect you in a very real way, including identify theft, credit card fraud, and stealing your funds. And of course, when you fall for a fake travel job, that means you have to start all over finding a real one.
Spotting Travel Nurse Scams: 10 Red Flags
As the use of travel nursing has grown, so have the number of companies that offer travel jobs. With so many recruiters out there, it can be tough to tell what offers or recruiters are legit or not. Here are 10 red flags to look out for:
1. Recruiters who use a personal email address like Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail instead of a address from a legit healthcare recruitment company like HealthTrust.
2. People posing as other employees — for instance, someone from HR, payroll, or compliance in an agency you've worked for in the past. Your recruiter should be the only one who contacts you, even for these kinds of concerns.
3. Job postings that have spelling errors or seem unprofessional — say, a lot of capital letters, or something that seems like a translation or AI. Even the best recruiters make mistakes sometimes, but too many is definitely a red flag!
4. Unprofessional behavior from the recruiter. Real recruiters will always get back to you promptly and won’t avoid any hard questions you may ask.
5. Lack of up-front details on your pay, including stipends for housing or meals.
6. Requests for money of any type. Legit staffing companies will always offer you access to job listings for free. Some of them even offer free monthly newsletters with exclusive opportunities, no strings attached!
7. Immediate offers. Don't trust a recruiter who wants to hire you on the spot. Even if an employer really needs someone, you’ll usually need to do an in-person interview and background check to seal the deal.
8. Requests for sensitive info over email, text, or social media. Any personal info you provide should always be entered through a secure online form.
9. Pressure to make fast decisions. Some scammers will try to create urgency to get you to agree to something without doing the research first, including fake but scary threats about legal action or having your nursing license suspended.
10. Suspicious housing opportunities. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is — especially when it requires immediate action and a quickly paid deposit.
10 Tips to Avoid Travel Nursing Scams
Beyond watching for red flags, here are 10 steps you can take to actually tell if an offer is a travel nursing scam.
1. Research the recruiter. Find them on social media and see if it matches their story. Go back a few years to make sure it's not a recently made-up profile.
2. Research the agency. Search Google or Reddit for the company they say they work for to see if it’s real. Find their website, LinkedIn page, or Glassdoor profile — a reputable company will have all of these. Find their number and call them.
3. Know what questions to ask. Ask what their process is for credentialing and if they're Joint Commission Certified. Ask how many years they’ve been recruiting and what they like about the job. Real recruiters will be happy to tell you, but scammers will usually change the subject.
4. Double-check job offers. Contact the facility where the job is to see if that position is actually open and whether they’re working with recruiters to fill it.
5. Always protect your personal info. Never share any info if you don’t feel comfortable. And if you do, make sure it’s through a secure online platform.
6. Never click links you don’t trust 100% — and that shouldn’t be very many! Many scams are successful if they just get you to click a link in an email or text.
7. Never pay any “untraceable” fees, like wire transfers, gift cards, or payment apps.
8. Insist on seeing the contract, and double-check it for unusual sections or commitments that go beyond your actual job.
9. Know how to spot AI fakes. It’s getting pretty tough to spot AI fakes, but there are some telltale signs like awkward grammar and strange wording. Also be aware that AI can be used to impersonate voices and phone numbers!
10. Report it. Protect others! If you discover a scam or suspicious activity, report it to the local authorities. Learn how here.
Avoid Travel Nurse Scams with HealthTrust
We can help you avoid the risk of travel nursing scams! As one of the nation's leading nurse staffing firms, you can trust HealthTrust to connect you with the opportunities that are best for you, with no risk of fake jobs, hidden fees, or other scams. Browse open travel jobs now to get the ball rolling!
