The Rise of Job Scams and How to Spot Them

With more people looking for work, and because the job market is so competitive, job scammers have become more prevalent. It can be hard to find out  what jobs are real, and what job postings are simply scams.

The purpose of this article is to help you figure out how to spot a scam job posting and what some of the key signs are.

If you just log onto a job posting site and trust that the job you’re reading about is real, then you are putting yourself into a situation where you can get scammed.

Scam Jobs: Preying on Desperation

Scammers who post fake job ads prey on the ignorant and desperate. They take advantage of people who are uneducated, or who are not knowledgeable enough to vet out the fake job ads.

Most scammers will post job ads that are very attractive: flexible hours, very high pay, or even the famous “work from home” line to dangle before people.

Common Tactics Employed By Scammers

1. Too Good to Be True :  Job scammers post fake jobs with too good to be true details. Very high pay, work from home jobs that pay $1000’s a week, or other eye catching details. In reality, if you see a job where the pay is $100 an hour with no experience, it’s a scam.

2. Fake Companies:  One of the biggest red flags is when the company is fake. If you can’t find the people on LinkedIn, then that means that the company is fake. Professional companies and employees will all be on LinkedIn. There are exceptions (nurses and government workers and other blue collar workers do not normally use LinkedIn).  But always do your research and check out the company.

3. Pay Up Front: Real companies do not require you to spend money or “cash checks” or anything else. These are all tactics that you’ll find if you are involved with a scam job posting. The only type of jobs that can cost you to apply are Government jobs. These jobs are not based on skill, experience, or ability. These government jobs make people pay for a test (a civil service exam) and then the person gets their name on a list. After a time period (months to years) and depending on what they scored on the civil service exam. The fee that the government charges is normally a set fee (anything from 30 to 50 bucks).

4. Internships and Commission Only Jobs Another common tactic used by job scammers is to setup jobs that explicitly won’t pay! They might pretend that the job is an “internship” (which is a scam used by even some reputable companies. On the other hand, there are some very dicey job openings that even reputable firms have that offer a “commission only” position. For all but a select few people, these are terrible job offerings.

The Danger of Scam Jobs

1. You Won’t Get Paid: The best outcome for a scam job is that you won’t be paid. Most scam jobs are more insidious, though, and what they are trying to do is get your personal information (social security details, for one) and other private information so that they can scam you. There are many low level jobs, though, that are setup to steal labor. Call centers, construction firms, and many contractors use fake job postings to get workers and then stiff them on payment.Some major red flags are construction jobs where the company doesn’t list the name, or else the company is an LLC. In these cases, the jobs are setup to hire people and then have them work on a job site and never pay them.

2. Identity Theft: One of the most common reasons why scammers post fake job ads is to obtain personal information and run an identity theft scam. This can end up ruining your credit, causing endless problems with your banking accounts and just being an endless headache to resolve. Many of these scams are run by overseas scam artists, however these scams are also being perputated by local scammers. This article has a good ovrerview of some of the risks.

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• Steal Your Money: Scam job postings that promise secret shopping, working from home type jobs are all designed to steal your money. The normal way that these scams work is that they post an add for a work from home opportunity and then mail them a fake check.  After cashing this fake check, the person is to buy prepaid cards and mail or text the info to the scammer. The checks are fake, and the scammer is relying on the person not waiting for the check to clear.

How To Protect Yourself From Scam Jobs

1. Research The Companies: Be smart and research the company before applying to a job. If you can’t find the people on LinkedIn, then it’s not a reputable company. Check the company website, make sure they have contact information, and read reviews online. If the company is legitimate then they will have all of their information public and also have reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, Glassdoor, and other review sites.
2. Beware of Recruiters Without LinkedIn: Recruiters will use LinkedIn, so if you receive emails or connect with a person on a job posting site and they won’t connect via LinkedIn as well, it’s a sign that they are not professional. Many scammers use other social media platforms instead of LinkedIn. So only do businesses with professional people with real, local presences. This is one of the main reasons you should use LinkedIn. You can message recruiters and see if they respond.

3. Unrealistic Job Offers: If the position sounds too good to be true, then it is to good to be true. If you’re reading a posting on a job posting site, then it’s not an executive level role with amazing pay and benefits. Be wary of any job where the details sound good to be true.
4. Don’t Pay Upfront Fees:  It’s a bad idea to ever spend money on a job before you are actually working. The idea of having to pay a fee in order to get a job is a major red flag and should indicate that you’re dealing with a scam business. Most good job sites will have a vetting process, but you should still be wary of job postings asking for money.