Lookingfor a job? You’re not alone. With unemployment at a soaring rate of 9.2%,according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, many job hunters are turningto online job boards to post their resume and search for jobs. Better BusinessBureau is warning job seekers to proceed with caution before sharing theirpersonal qualifications and inquiring about jobs found online.
Asmuch as the Internet has made searching for jobs easier, it also provides anopportunity for ID thieves and scammers to take advantage of eager—andunsuspecting—job seekers. It’s becoming more and more common for scammers tolure in potential candidates with phrases like, “Get rich quick – without evenleaving your home!” all in the hopes of getting their personal information. Craigslist,Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com and now even Facebook are all breeding groundsfor scammers and the like.
“Jobseekers need to be on the look out for potential scams. Before posting yourresume to a career site or inquiring about a job, make sure you know with whomyou are dealing,” said Robert Shomphe, President/CEO. “Many job scammers arehaving candidates set up direct deposit accounts as part of the applicationprocess and making it seem as though it’s naturally part of the process to getan interview—when it’s absolutely not.”
BBB advises job hunters to be on the look out for thesered flags when conducting their job search:
Employer emails are rife withgrammatical and spelling errors. Most online fraud is perpetrated byscammers located outside the U.S.Their first language usually isn’t English and this is often evident in their poorgrasp of the language which can include poor grammar and the misspelling ofcommon words.
Emails purporting to be from jobposting websites claiming there’s a problem with a job hunter’s account. After creating auser account on sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com or Craigslist.com, ajob hunter might receive an e-mail saying there has been a problem with theiraccount or they need to follow a hyperlink to install new software. Phishinge-mails like this are designed to convince readers to click a link within themessage to fix the issue, but actually take them to a website that will installmalware or viruses on their computer.
An employer asks for extensivepersonal information such as social security or bank account numbers. Some job seekers havebeen surprised to learn they’ve gotten a job without having to do a singleinterview. However, when the employer then asked for personal information inorder to fill out the necessary paperwork suspicions were raised – and rightlyso. Regardless of the reason or excuse given by the employer, a job applicantshould never give out his or her Social Security or bank account numbers overthe phone or e-mail.
An employer offers theopportunity to become rich without leaving home. While thereare legitimate businesses that allow employees to work from home, there arealso a lot of scammers trying to take advantage of senior citizens,stay-at-home moms, students and injured or handicapped people looking to makemoney at home. Job hunters should use extreme caution when considering awork-at-home offer and always research the company with their BBB first at www.bbb.org.
An employer asks for money upfront. Aside from payingfor a uniform, it is rarely advisable for an applicant to pay upfront fees ormake a required purchase to get a job. Most recently, the BBB of Metropolitan Dallas uncovered a scam wherejob hunters were told they had to pay $64.50 for a background check before theycould be considered for a cleaning job. Predictably, after paying for thebackground check, the job seeker never heard from the company again.
The salary and benefits offered seemtoo-good-to-be-true. The adage holdstrue for job offers: if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.Phony employers might brag about exceptionally high salary potential andexcellent benefits for little experience in order to lure unsuspecting jobhunters into their scam.
The job requires the employee towire money through Western Union or MoneyGram. Many phony jobs require the prospective employee tocash a check sent by the company through the mail and then wire a portion ofthe money on to another entity. Reasons given for this requirement vary fromscam to scam. Whatever the reason though, the check might clear the employee’sbank account but will eventually turn out to be a fake and the employee is outthe money he or she wired back to the scammers.