Are you looking for a job? Searching online, especially on classifieds sites such as Locanto or job boards like Monster, is a great way to find – and score – your dream job, as the selection is larger than in a newspaper. Oftentimes you can directly contact the company you are interested in, or find more information about them with only one click to their homepage.
But the world of online job sites isn’t always a bowl of cherries. Not every job opportunity is as glamorous, easy, or as profitable as promised in the ad. Job scams are just another way to separate you from your hard earned money. Most fraudulent job offers on the Internet are advertised as “work from home” jobs, and they predominantly target retired people, disabled people, mothers, students, and anyone else who wants to make some extra cash while staying at home. While there are many legit work from home jobs, you should still be aware of the many scams floating the many job boards online.
How do I recognize employment scams?
- There is no clear description of what you would have to do
- The focus of the ad is how much you will earn (and that is ridiculously high for the little amount of work that is required from you)
- The ad style includes shouty text, imperatives, exclamation marks, colored, large text
- They almost always tell you that the jobs are ‘scam-free’, or ‘totally legitimate’
- Very vague details of location of the employer – no address or phone number
- The payment of a fee is required for training materials or more information
- You have to sign up at some website to be considered for the job
- You have to recruit other people in order to make money
- A contact email address that is not a primary domain. For example, an employer calling itself “Omega Inc.” with a Yahoo! Email address
Things to avoid
- Do not give your personal bank account, PayPal account, or credit card numbers to an employer
- Do not pay any fee to receive information, training material, or other things you need for the job
- Do not accept to work for an employer without having met in person or spoken on the phone
- Do not forward, transfer, or “wire” money to an employer, especially not via Western Union and NOT in a foreign country
How do I know if the employment offer is legitimate?
- A legitimate job offer will provide you with all the information you need on the job itself and on the employer
- Your salary matches your work experience and the type of work you would do
- You are able to contact the employer by phone and visit their offices in order to ask questions
- The company is registered as a business in your country
- You should get paid to work, not pay to work.
Don’t think that you have nothing to lose. Your address or credit card information may be used for
fraud if you give out this information freely. So keep your eyes and ears open, use your common sense
in your hunt for a job, and remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
