LEWISTON — The Maine Department of Labor has issued a warning that a Maine Job Bank posting from someone pretending to be from Central Maine Medical Center was actually a scam seeking applicants’ financial information.

The scammer used CMMC’s  federal employer identification number to advertise for an administrative assistant and a bookkeeper, the Department of Labor announced in a press release. When job seekers accepted the referral from the job bank, the scammer contacted them by email, indicating how to follow up. Subsequent communication asked for financial information.

On May 9, an applicant reported the suspicious ad to the job bank, which closed the account and contacted CMMC.

The Maine Department of Labor then contacted each of the 40 people who were sent automatic referrals for the two positions. Of those, four were confirmed to have communicated with the company, but none of the four provided any financial information to the scammer, the labor department said.

“We have about 8,000 jobs on the Maine Job Bank, and all of those employers have been vetted by the department,” Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette said in a written statement. “This instance is troubling because they are impersonating a legitimate Maine employer. We have notified the Maine Attorney General’s office, the U.S. Department of Labor and other states so that the national Job Bank referral system can be on alert for similar postings to protect job seekers. We are working closely with CMMC and the state Office of Information Technology to investigate this incident.”

The Sun Journal has contacted CMMC for comment on the incident.

Paquette asked people to continue using the job bank, but be careful.

“If people are asking you to create brand new email accounts in order to apply for a job, do not bother with a face-to-face interview or want to interview you through an instant messaging system, that should raise big red flags,” she said. “If you have questions about a job posting, do not hesitate to contact the Department of Labor or your local CareerCenter to find out more information about that job or to report a suspicious posting. Protect yourself by asking to meet a potential employer in person before agreeing to work for them and never give out your personal information over the phone or email to an unverified person.”

People who have seen similar emails relating to any job application from any job board, not just the Maine Job Bank, should call the Maine Department of Labor at 207-623-7900