By Randy Hutchinson, Special to The Commercial Appeal
Crooks exploit the headlines, and a blaring headline these days is "Unemployment is high." People desperate to find jobs are targets for an increasing number and variety of employment scams.
Some old favorites have been around for years. While there are legitimate mystery-shopper jobs, the ones that ask you to deposit a check and use part of the proceeds to test the money transfer system at Walmart are scams. When the check bounces, you're on the hook for the money you've wired. One local consumer lost $4,500 she sent to Canada in this scam.
If you respond to an ad offering an inside scoop on government jobs in return for a fee, you may simply get a list of jobs that's available for free on the Internet. The Better Business Bureau has yet to see a legitimate work-at-home job that fulfills its promises of high earnings for part-time work, no experience necessary. You aren't going to make any money stuffing envelopes.
The crooks have also become more creative. I received an e-mail at the office asking if I was at least 22 years of age, trustworthy, very observant and focused on details. If so, I'm eligible to apply for a position as a "Payment Processing Assistant" with a starting salary of $2,000 per month and all expenses paid. My duties would likely be to receive payments from their customers, deposit them to my bank account and wire the money to the company. As with the mystery shopper and many other kinds of scams that include phony checks, I'd be out the money when the checks bounce.
The Mississippi Attorney General has just indicted a particularly creative fellow. This scammer set up a phony off-shore drilling company and advertised jobs that required upfront payment of union dues. In three months, he collected over $14,000 from applicants. A Memphis man advertised jobs for window-washers and collected upfront payments for bogus drug tests.
The BBB offers this advice for avoiding job scams:
Don't assume that an ad on a well-known website (for example, CareerBuilder.com), or an offer in response to a résumé you posted there, is legitimate.
Beware of opportunities with "no experience necessary," particularly for high-paying positions.
Beware of inflated earnings claims.
Don't provide personal or financial information, including copies of your driver's license and Social Security card, unless you're absolutely sure the employer is legitimate.
Don't agree to use your personal bank account to facilitate money transfers.
Check out unfamiliar employers and offers that seem too good to be true with the BBB.
Pass these tips on to children who are graduating from college and entering a difficult job market. Their inexperience and misplaced trust in what they see on the Internet, including social media sites, make them particularly vulnerable to these kinds of scams.
Randy Hutchinson is the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South. Reach him at rhutchinson@bbbmidsouth.org.
Reprinted with permission
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