Avoiding Job Scams
Find A Job
Job seekers should always do research before applying to a job, regardless of how the job posting looks. Finding a job should be your full-time job, so you should check out all postings before applying
Stats
According to Pew Internet Project, 52 million Americans have hit the Internet in search of a job. That’s a 60 percent jump over the number of people who used the Internet in their online job searches in March of 2000. On an average day, more than four million people search out new opportunities on the Net, which is 33 percent higher than the daily job-search traffic two years ago.
Red Flags that a Job Posting Might be a Scam
Overall Job Description
- Job duties are incongruent with what position usually entails
- Misspellings, grammatical mistakes
- Asking about physical characteristics
- No privacy policy on site
Personal Info
- Asking for any personal info upfront: Driver’s license, SSN, address, etc.
Too Good to be True
- “Help you find your dream job” … but only after you have paid a fee
- “Work at home”
- E-mail from self-help gurus or entrepreneurs who promise to help you “fulfill your potential”….but only after you have paid to attend their expensive workshop
- “Has a great opportunity at a major company”…but can’t seem to come up with a specific company name or a specific job
- “Post your resume here”…but doesn’t tell you that they may be getting paid a small referral fee
Pre-payment
- Jobs asking you to complete financial transactions without sufficient information, shipping and re-shipping goods, etc.
- Request billing/credit card info
- Paying for services, staffing and recruiting, etc.
