Women getting Harvard job offers that actually do not exist

Job frauds are not uncommon to us, especially since every hiring and recruitment process moved online, it has become easier for job scams to find their victims. However, when we speak of such frauds there are certain demographics of people or certain criteria that allow us to determine if the offer is valid or not. To begin with, every instance of job fraud involves victims who were caught in a vulnerable movement or situation leading them to trust an online persona regarding the offer or the perpetrators assume false identities of representatives of companies that do not have the backing or power to take action against them if they get caught. 

This case is different from all those, the targets belong to a very specific niche, and the false identity assumed is of one of the most powerful institutions in the world. The accident was brought to light when prominent Indian news anchor Nidhi Razdan announced her withdrawal from Indian media as she was offered a teaching position at Harvard and that she was moving to America. Her dream ticket out of India's toxic media culture, Razdan freely shared her personal information and documents such as bank account numbers, passport details, medical conditions, etc with whom she assumed was her future employer. Later on in January when she opened her mail she was shocked to see a new message from the actual Harvard University saying that they had no record of her communication or of her job offering in their books, the mail ended with the University wishing her all the best for her future. At this point, Razdan realized that she had thrown away her high-flying job in journalism and fallen into an elaborate hoax enabled by the prestige of the organization, confusion caused by the pandemic, and her own digital naivety. Having said that, she is not alone in this, The Post found out that multiple prominent female journalists from India have fallen prey to this scam. The perpetrators use multiple interlinked, untraceable Twitter and other social media accounts to get in touch with these women. Like other extortionists, they haven't used personal information for money or blackmail which keeps their motive a mystery to this date.

Another aspect of the story is that even though Harvard which is an institution that is very protective of its brand, was informed on multiple instances about this scam but allegedly did not take any action to prevent it or inform people. Harvard spokespersons have refused to comment on the matter. 

Source: The New York Times