Job searches are tough activities to endure and we all go through the process. However, phony job leads can be a burden and when answering one of those leads generates spam in your inbox, the result can be tough to bear. Beware of job leads that show up in your mailbox from entities claiming to have reviewed your resume if the job lead has no bearing on the content of your resume. This is an indication that no real job exists.

There are companies that access some of the online resume databases looking for email addresses and send phony job leads to every email address they find. Many of these alleged job leads will appear legitimate because the online application is quite detailed and the form contains the logo of a seemingly reputable company. When you fill out the application, what you are doing is providing personal information and permission to be placed on an email list.

A decisive test for this type of swindle is that a job application contains a check box to indicate that the applicant is interested in receiving information on some topic or other. Clicking the checkbox will almost immediately cause the amount of spam to increase for the would-be applicant. No real job application will solicit permission to forward your contact information to a mail list.