BEWARE OF SCAMMERS IN YOUR JOB SEARCH

By Wendy Oliveras on Friday, October 16 2009

As if we didn’t have enough things to worry about today, please proceed carefully with your job search.  Law enforcement officials recently began to warn job seekers to be careful because there are criminals posing as employers asking for copies of applicants’ personal credit reports.  As we all know, credit reports contain a plethora of personal background information such as current and previous addresses, social security numbers, bank and credit card account numbers, job history, and other details that are valuable to scam artists. 

In a recent article provided by the Consumer Affairs Department, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett is quoted as stating “Falling for Internet job schemes can be a double threat – leaving victims unemployed and struggling to untangle a web of financial problems caused by identity theft.”  Corbert also stated that “con artists are using Internet postings and email messages to circulate ads for high paying part-time work as personal assistants, check processors and a variety of other work-at-home positions.”  Keep in mind that the actual language used in these scams vary greatly, but they all seem to have common terms and phrases such as (a) offering easy and fast money for little work; (b) work from home offers; (c) an indication that you are unable to meet your employer in-person usually because they are out of town or are based overseas; and (d) a request for you to reply quickly or within a short period of time.  Whether or not you are a student seeking summer work, graduates hoping to land their first job, or older job seekers looking for part-time work or new careers, just be aware that offers that seem “too good to be true” are not.  Look out for those job offers which ask for detailed personal information because they are most likely scams.

Another con that is practiced by scammers are fake website links that are put in their email messages which tend to send you to look-alike websites that can be used to electronically steal your personal information.  Remember that a legitimate company that needs to obtain your credit report as a part of its screening and/or hiring process can get this information directly from the three major credit bureaus.  Therefore, personal information does not need to be requested nor given via email.

In summary, I strongly urge you to be cautious in providing personal and/or credit information to prospective employers.  More particularly, if you are applying to online jobs, note that these are a great avenue for scammers to target you as the job-seeker, since you are more likely to provide requested information.  It is one thing to be flexible about different job openings, but there are some clear red flags that jump out at you, and if you do not pay close attention to the information being requested, you can find yourself a “victim” of a scam.  My general advice is as follows:

• Always research the company you are applying to and make sure it is a legitimate company.
• Stay vigilant regarding your online job search and monitor what information is being requested.
• Avoid any type of online offer that involves a request to wire-transfer money to someone you do not know.  (This is another common scam whereby job seekers are provided with checks and are asked to wire-transfer money to other people believing that they are paying bills for the employers, processing checks, handling payments for an overseas business or dealing with depositing counterfeit checks or money orders into their bank accounts and then wire-transferring that money to scam artists overseas.  What transpires as a result is that fake checks will eventually be returned and banks will require you to repay any funds they withdrew.)
• If you are unsure about something, then do not go forward.  Think before you act.

Wendy Oliveras is a columnist, author, search consultant, and career planning and development advisor.  She can be reached at either (201) 947-6662; email wo@oliverascoinc.com; www.twitter.com/WendyOliveras; www.linkedin/in/wendyoliveras.  Thanks.