Guest Author - Gwendolyn Thompson
Job scams are on the rise due to the high rate of unemployment. Learning how to protect yourself and spot job searching scams should become a part of your job searching skills. You will need to know how to spot scams and research the postings to be sure that you will not become a party to a bogus job posting.
Job scams are placed in newspapers as well as on-line. The purpose of these postings is to make money for the scammer. The way that this works is that the scammer requests personal information for fraud use or requests an up front cash payment from you before payment is made to you.
During periods of high unemployment more people are job searching leaving an increased market open for scamming. Spotting these bogus advertisements and protecting yourself should be your first priority when job searching. Take the extra time to research the job posting before giving out your information.
Awareness is the key to spotting bogus postings and using your skills through research will help keep you safe. To avoid becoming a party to a job scam that has been posted you need to know what you should be looking for. The following is a list of common characteristics of job scams:
1. No special skills or experience is required for the job
2. The job requires minimal time to be completed
3. Education information is not required and everyone is qualified for the job
4. A job description is not given
5. There are errors in English, spelling or punctuation
6. The contact information is not associated with an employer or is not given
7. No website or public name is available
8. Requires money or bank information to be set for screening purposes
Bogus postings or websites will not contain all of the characteristics above but should raise a red flag for further research if even one of the above characteristics are spotted in the posting. Scammers rely on a professional convincing look for the posting but will incorporate characteristics to get what they need.
Scams are commonly placed in e-mail messages. These scams will claim that they found your resume on-line and that they believe that you are a good candidate for a job that they are recruiting for. What you will not find is the domain name for the company or the recruiter in the e-mail.
If a domain name is given in the e-mail, you should research the site as well as the employer to see if it is legitimate. Some scams will pretend to be a legitimate employer through identity theft and advertise bogus jobs that are unrelated to the legitimate employer named in the posting.
Spotting a bogus website or resume board can prove to be difficult. The website may appear to be professional by requiring you to “Register” before viewing the job posts. What they hope to achieve is collecting your information by allowing you to select the job you want after registering.
Once you have registered and selected a job post, you will be permitted to apply for the job. This is when your personal information will be required for a pre-screening. They may ask for your social security number, your banking information, your drivers license number or a money transaction for the screening.
Use your job searching skills when viewing jobs posted before you apply for them. Do not assume that all websites or job ads can be trusted with your resume or information. Learn how to make your resume “Cyber-Safe” and learn to research job searching scams at reliable websites like Job-Hunt.org.
