As the unemployment
rate hovers around 10 percent, the Better Business Bureau warns that
scammers are taking advantage of the opportunity by preying on the
unemployed. Identifying the common red flags of a scam is one way for
job hunters to protect themselves and their wallet.
According to the
Labor Department, new jobless claims in mid-August unexpectedly jumped
to 500,000, an increase of 12,000 over the previous week. Not only did
jobless claims rise suddenly, but the length of unemployment is bleak
for many. According to a July report from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, nearly 45 percent of unemployed Americans had been out of
work for more than 6 months.
“The dismal
employment rate means that a lot of people are desperate for work and
may be grasping for any job which creates a great opportunity for
scammers,” said Stephen A. Cox, President and CEO of the Council of
Better Business Bureaus. “Not thoroughly researching a job opportunity
can make a bad situation even worse and a victim can lose hundreds or
even thousands of dollars to any number of job-related scams.”
BBB recommends
looking out for the following seven red flags when searching for a job:
Red Flag: The
employer offers the opportunity to become rich without leaving home
While many legitimate businesses 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 conveniently 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.bbb.org.
Red Flag: The
employer asks for money upfront
It is rarely advisable for an applicant to pay upfront fees or make a
required purchase to get a job. BBB often hears from job hunters who
paid a phony employer for supposedly required background checks or
training for jobs that didn’t exist. Always research the job thoroughly
before opening up your wallet. Also be wary of job placement companies
that ask for large upfront fees to find you a job.
Red Flag: 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 work and no
experience necessary in order to lure unsuspecting job hunters into
their scam.
Red Flag: Employer
e-mails are rife with grammatical and spelling errors.
Online fraud is often 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.
Red Flag: The
employer requires you to check your credit report
After posting their resumes online or responding to online job listings,
many job hunters received what they thought was good news: an e-mail
from an interested employer. In order to be considered for the job, the
applicant has to check his or her credit report through a recommended
website. The truth is, the e-mail is just an attempt to get the job
hunter to divulge sensitive financial information or sign up for credit
monitoring services.
Red Flag: The
employer is quick to ask for 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, a job applicant should never give out his or her Social Security
or bank account numbers over the phone or email and only after they’ve
confirmed the job is legitimate.
Red Flag: The job
requires you to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram or receive
and forward suspicious goods
Many phony jobs require the 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. BBB also warns
against receiving and mailing suspicious goods—such as electronics or
luxury items—overseas.
Reporters: for more
information or to schedule an interview with a BBB spokesperson, contact
Alison Southwick at 703-247-9376.
About Better
Business Bureau
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 65 million
consumers rely on BBB Reliability Reports® and BBB Wise Giving Reports®
to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North
America. Visit
www.bbb.org/us for more information.
Disclaimer: The Google Translation that has been added to
pages within the Pendleton-Gazette was done solely as a tool to help those who
speak other languages. It is not guaranteed to be 100% full prove (accurate)
when a translation is performed because of sentence structures in languages
other than English do vary.
