How can I tell if an email really came from USAJOBS?

“Phishing”, the act of sending fake emails to obtain your personal or financial information, is a real threat. Phishing emails may try to get you to visit a fake link or website, or include a malicious attachment.

While we hope you never receive a phishing email, if you're not sure an email is from USAJOBS, here are a few things to look out for.

Generic greetings

We don't start off any email with a generic greeting such as “Dear User”, “Hello Sir” or just “Hello” with no name. Our email greetings will always use the name you use in your USAJOBS profile. Be cautious of any email where you don't recognize the name in the greeting.

Unknown attachments

We never send any email attachments. If the email contains an attachment, don't open or download it.

Unknown links

Many of our emails will contain links, either to a job announcement or to an account management feature. However, before you click on any link, move your mouse over the link or button to see where it's going. If the link looks suspicious, don't click on it. Instead, you can type www.usajobs.gov into your web browser and sign into your USAJOBS profile to complete any task. You can also copy and paste the URL into a new web browser.

Bad grammar and spelling errors

We proof read our emails to check for spelling and grammar mistakes. If the email has several misspellings or bad grammar, it could be a sign of a phishing scam.

Any email that asks for personal information

We'll never ask for personal information in the email, including your social security number or any financial information. We'll always direct you to www.usajobs.gov to make any changes to your account or profile.

Types of emails we do send

Most of our email communications include:

Job search results
Saved job information
Updates to usajobs.gov

Types of emails we don't send

We won't send you emails asking you to:

Enter your username or password—if there are changes to your password or username, we'll direct you back to www.usajobs.gov.
Give us any personal information, such as your social security number.

Login.gov is a service that offers secure and private online access to government programs. You may receive a few emails asking you to create an account with login.gov.

What if I'm still not sure the email is from USAJOBS?

If you ever receive a suspicious looking email saying it's from USAJOBS or you're just not sure, please contact us before following any instructions in the email.

To contact us:

Click on the Contact Us button on the upper right side of the page or towards the bottom of the page.
Fill out the form and use the comments section to explain what you're seeing in the email.
Click Send.