As many Americans are seeking employment, BBB is warning job-seekers to watch out for red flags of employment scams to avoid losing money and sensitive information. Do your research to conduct a safe, fruitful job search. 

“Job seekers are becoming increasingly susceptible to suspect offers for employment as they try to find work in an extremely competitive job market,” said Carrie A. Hurt, President and CEO of BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas. “Many scammers have set their sights on the unemployed because the number of potential victims is growing by the hundreds of thousands every month.”

Beware of Red Flags:

·         Upfront fees

·         Big promises for job placement

·         Requests for personally identifiable information

Job offers that require an upfront fee

Earlier this year, job ads cropped up in Florida from a company claiming it was looking to hire 2,500 employees for their new headquarters. Applicants were required to submit $24 to pay for a background check. Law enforcement later found out the money only went to the pockets of the company’s owner. Sadly, similar schemes crop up across the country every year. While the amount of money lost by any one victim maybe be small, the total amount taken in by the schemer can be significant.

BBB advice: Avoid any opportunity that requires an upfront payment to be considered for a job. If a potential employer asks you to pay the company to cover the costs of testing, training or background checks, it should be considered a red flag.

Job placement assistance makes big promises but can’t deliver

Job placement companies, or headhunter firms, often do not charge the job seekers for help finding a job, but are instead paid by companies that need help filling positions. Some job placement companies, however, have been taking money from job hunters and not fulfilling their promises of quick employment.

One such placement firm advertising on Craigslist charged as much as $195 and guaranteed it could find job hunters work. Unfortunately, job hunters didn’t receive call backs or refunds and had no real way to contact the company.

BBB Advice: Always research a job placement company first with BBB before signing contracts or paying money. Be extremely cautious about paying upfront fees and know the deal on how to get a refund.

Phishing attempts by ID thieves pretend to be real businesses

Identity thieves employ many different methods for getting personal financial information from job hunters. Spam e-mail might offer a great opportunity and direct the job hunter to a website that is designed to install malware on his or her computer or solicit bank account or Social Security numbers. In other cases, the job hunter might even be asked to submit a resume, find out they’ve been hired and then immediately be asked for bank account or Social Security numbers.

BBB Advice:  Be extremely cautious when responding to unsolicited e-mails from supposed employers, even if the company name is well-known, and do not click on any links in the e-mail until verifying the company fully and confirming the e-mail came from a legitimate source. Legitimate employers will need Social Security numbers for tax purposes and may need a bank account number to deposit paychecks for new employees, but job hunters should be wary of any requests for this information from companies they have not met in person.