The bad news? For every one legitimate job that’s
available, there are at least 60 scams, experts
contend.
And it’s not just rubes who get conned. “I would like
to say that reasonable people don’t get caught, but
that’s not the case,” Durst says. “Very smart
people sometimes just have a moment of
weakness.”
Con artists also are getting sneakier and more
skilled, says Fell. In one recent case, scammers
managed to mimic the site of a real employer, for
instance. Because the design and domain name
was so similar to the real company site, job
applicants had their guard down. When the bogus
employer said new hires had to pay to get the
company’s work-at-home software, but would be
reimbursed in their first paycheck, they shelled out
$400 each. Needless to say, once the applicant
paid up, neither the software nor the job
materialized.
Other scammers bank on the applicant’s
forgetfulness, she adds. Realizing that many people
apply for hundreds of jobs at a time, one email
scam says: “Thank you for your application. You
look like a qualified candidate. We need you to fill
out this second set of applications to go to the next
level.” At this stage, applicants may not have any
idea what the job is or who is inquiring, but they
assume it’s a response to their application. So they
blindly click on a link in the email and provide
potentially damaging personal data to the crook. Fell
suggests that applicants never send out more than
10 resumes at a time, so they can keep track of all
the places they’ve applied. If a response is coming
from someone you can’t identify, get more
information before giving any.
“A number of the scams are really savvy and
subtle,” says Fell. “If you weren’t paying close
attention, it would be really easy to fall for them.”
What are the warning signs of a flexible-work
scam?
1. Few details: Real job postings include lots of
detail about the actual job, the skills required and
the title. If a job is short on requirements — from
hours and duties to the kind of skill required — but
talks repeatedly about the flexible nature of the
work, consider it a red flag.
2. High pay/low effort: Listen to your gut, says
Durst. Is somebody really going to be offering you
easy work and a flexible schedule for high pay?
Promising that their “guaranteed system” will make
you a mint, if you act now? Get real. Unless your
skill set is in such high demand that you’d get as
much or more from a brick-and-mortar position, a
work-at-home opportunity isn’t either.
3. Burned applicants: Before applying for an online
opportunity, type in the name of the company and
“scam,” suggests Fell. If it’s one of the many bogus
jobs, you’ll quickly find web-based complaints.
Durst also likes work-at-home forums, such as
those at wahm.com and workplacelikehome.com.
She suggests that anyone serious about finding
good opportunities, register at these sites and just
lurk in the forums to find out what other people are
complaining about. “Hell hath no fury like a woman
scammed,” she says. “If somebody’s been burned,
they’re going to tell you about it in no uncertain
terms.”
4. Upfront cash: Real jobs pay you. You don’t pay
the employer. Unless you’re buying a franchise
(and that’s another story altogether), you should not
have to pay to get paid. Don’t be fooled by slick
claims, testimonials or “guaranteed programs”
designed to make you rich. If they’re asking for
money in advance to get a job, they’re likely to be
crooks. (This is distinct from job search sites,
including FlexJobs, that charge for membership as
a way of providing an advertising-free site.)
5. Too much information: Though most work-at-
home scams seek cash payments from victims, a
few appear to be going after the personal
information that could make you a target of identity
theft. You don’t need to put your Social Security
number or driver’s license number on a job
application. If the application asks for those
identifying numbers or for a credit card number,
back away.
6. Anonymous emails: If you’re dealing with a
human resources manager at a particular company,
their email address should be coming from the
company’s domain name, not an anonymous
domain like Gmail, Yahoo or AT&T.
7. Unprofessional communication: Job postings and
email communications with multiple exclamation
marks, misspellings and grammatical errors are
also likely to be scams.
8. Over payments: One of the pervasive mystery
shopper scams provides big up-front checks to
mystery shoppers, who are instructed to deposit
the money in their own bank accounts; use what
they need to buy an inexpensive product and pay
themselves a fee. The mystery shopper is then told
to wire the remaining funds back to the “employer.”
In reality, the check the scammer gave you is a
forgery. But it may be a good enough fake to keep
your bank guessing past the point when banking
rules require that they “provisionally” provide the
funds. What does that mean? It will look like the
check cleared. But the bank will debit your account
later if the check is a fake — and that could happen
weeks after you’ve spent the money. You’re on the
hook for the cost of the purchased products,
whatever amount you refunded to the crook, as well
as any overdraft fees that the fake check caused.
source: http://zealnote.com/8-warning-signs-job-
scam/
