For
Immediate Release – August 2, 2011 - Looking for 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 turning to online job boards to post their
resume and search for jobs. Better Business Bureau is warning job seekers to
proceed with caution before sharing their personal qualifications and inquiring
about jobs found online.
As much
as the Internet has made searching for jobs easier, it also provides an
opportunity for ID thieves and scammers to take advantage of eager—and unsuspecting—job
seekers. It’s becoming more and more common for scammers to lure in potential
candidates with phrases like, “Get rich quick – without even leaving your
home!” all in the hopes of getting their personal information. Craigslist,
Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com and now even Facebook are all breeding grounds
for scammers and the like.
“Job
seekers need to be on the look out for potential scams. Before posting your
resume to a career site or inquiring about a job, make sure you know with whom
you are dealing,” said David Weiss, president and CEO of the Better Business
Bureaus Serving Greater Cleveland. “Many job scammers are having candidates set
up direct deposit accounts as part of the application process and making it
seem as though it’s naturally part of the process to get an interview—when it’s
absolutely not.”
BBB advises job
hunters to be on the look out for these red flags when conducting their job
search:
Employer emails are rife with grammatical and
spelling errors. Most online fraud is perpetrated by scammers located outside the U.S.
Their first language usually isn’t English and this is often evident in their
poor grasp of the language which can include poor grammar and the misspelling
of common words.
Emails purporting to be from job posting websites
claiming there’s a problem with a job hunter’s account. After creating a user account on
sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com or Craigslist.com, a job hunter might
receive an e-mail saying there has been a problem with their account or they
need to follow a hyperlink to install new software. Phishing e-mails like this
are designed to convince readers to click a link within the message to fix the
issue, but actually take them to a website that will install malware or viruses
on their computer.
An employer asks for extensive personal information
such as social security or bank account numbers. Some job seekers have been
surprised to learn they’ve gotten a job without having to do a single
interview. However, when the employer then asked for personal information in
order to fill out the necessary paperwork suspicions were raised – and rightly
so. Regardless of the reason or excuse given by the employer, a job applicant
should never give out his or her Social Security or bank account numbers over
the phone or e-mail.
An employer offers the opportunity to
become rich without leaving home. While there are legitimate
businesses that allow employees to work from home, there are also a lot of
scammers trying to take advantage of senior citizens, stay-at-home moms,
students and injured or handicapped people looking to make money at home. Job
hunters should use extreme caution when considering a work-at-home offer and
always research the company with their BBB
first at www.cleveland.bbb.org.
An employer asks for money upfront. Aside from paying for a uniform,
it is rarely advisable for an applicant to pay upfront fees or make a required
purchase to get a job. Most recently, the BBB
of Metropolitan Dallas uncovered a scam where job hunters were told they had to
pay $64.50 for a background check before they could be considered for a
cleaning job. Predictably, after paying for the background check, the job
seeker never heard from the company again.
The salary and benefits offered seem
too-good-to-be-true. The adage holds true for job
offers: if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Phony employers
might brag about exceptionally high salary potential and excellent benefits for
little experience in order to lure unsuspecting job hunters into their scam.
The job requires the employee to wire money through
Western Union or MoneyGram. Many
phony jobs require the prospective employee to cash a check sent by the company
through the mail and then wire a portion of the money on to another entity.
Reasons given for this requirement vary from scam to scam. Whatever the reason
though, the check might clear the employee’s bank account but will eventually
turn out to be a fake and the employee is out the money he or she wired back to
the scammers.
# # #
About BBB
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an
unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair
and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely
on BBB Business Reviews®
and BBB Wise Giving Reports®
to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North
America. Visit www.cleveland.bbb.org
for more information.