Isn’t it enough that the stock market is in a sell off, and that jobs are hard to come by, but now job hunters have to deal with jobs scams. The stress of trying to find a job in this poor economy that matches our skills and salary requirements is hard enough. But unsuspecting job hunters now have another battle to contend with – JOB SCAMS and FAKE JOB OFFERS! No – they may not all be looking to rob us of our money but they are certainly robbing us of one commodity that can’t be replaced – TIME!
Scam job offers are all over the Internet as creative web scammers are finding a way into our lives. Craig’s List scammers are especially prevalent because the job posts and listings are free. You probably get the money scam spam emails that say “Make Money on Craig’s List”! Well the money they are making is most likely at our expense. Millions of people every day are searching job posts online trying to find the perfect job. Everyone would, ideally, like to work at home and make lots of money or work for a company that allows telecommuting. Interestingly, these perfect job offers are all over Craig’s List!
If you go on Craig’s List looking for a job – be forewarned! There are many posts that aren’t jobs at all – simply evil ways for people to make affiliate money, to get you to sign up for their service or a money scam that gets you to accept fake bank deposits. The fake job posts are everywhere, in every city, for all job types – especially looming in the part-time job category. Craig’s List is a free post system so it is a big attraction to scam artists from across the country. I tested a few of the postings to see if they were legitimate. To my dismay – very few were real job listings. It is a shame because the few real job post ads have to be entangled with all of the bogus crap jobs.
20 Sure fire signs that a Job Post could be one of the Craig’s List Job Scams
1. It has a generic, over-used or vague job title. Admin Assistant or Customer Service Rep are popular ones. 2. The jobs that indicate that “Telecommuting is Ok”. This attracts many people and gives them more responses. 3. They fail to list a specific location for the job – i.e. they list no location under the city or area that you are searching. 4. They list a salary or hourly wage that seems too good to be true or too specific like $13.64 – 34.23 / hour. What the…? 5. They list it as a government job. 6. They post a job with a title that doesn’t match the description. 7. They use strange sentences or misspellings. 8. A search for that job title in Google – example “Admin Assistant Craig’s List” and comes up in many other cities with the exact same job post. Because Craig’s List is free – they can easily post the same bogus job post in every city. 9. If the description has a bunch of exclamation points and promises high income in one week. 10. If the description boldly states “No Experience Necessary” but has a promise of high pay. 11. There is no job contact information. A quality job post will tell you who to email or give you a valid company website. 12. A link that is to a home business or multi level marketing opportunity website. This isn’t a JOB – but a business venture. If you were looking for a home business opportunity you would have searched that category. 13. A link that redirects you to another site. 14. A link that takes you to a job membership site and asks you to register. 15. A quick response to your email inquiry that tells you they have reviewed your resume when you didn’t even send it. 16. A quick response to your email inquiry that leads you to another website that promises you more job openings – like government jobs. Click after click – nothing but a time waster… 17. A response to your email inquiry that asks you to sign up for a web-conferencing service so you can be part of a training call. 18. A response to your email inquiry with a name and company that does not exist. 19. A response to your email inquiry from someone in a foreign country looking to hire people in the United States to handle accounts payable or receivables. 20. The same auto response to all of your emails. There isn’t a real person at the other end of the email account.
Tips on – How to avoid being scammed by one of the Fake Job Offers
If you suspect that a job post is bogus – follow some of these guidelines to avoid spending much of your precious time and energy.
1. Send a generic inquiry first. Do not send your resume right away. Do not waste your time on a cover letter and reformatting your resume for a scam. Tell them you are interested in the job but would like to know more about the company and the location. Be sure to ask who you should direct the resume to. 2. Search for that job title in Google – example “Admin Assistant Craig’s List” and see if it comes up in other cities with the exact same job post. 3. If they reply to your email. Check the name, company and website. Always check to make sure the company is a real company before you continue to waste time pursuing the job offer. Do a Google search on the company name or contact name to see if they exist or if there are any complaints written by others about this job offer. 4. Check the website address they give you. Does the website seem legitimate or does it just redirect you to another site? If the link is something like “sitename.com/submityouresume.asp”. Check the main website by taking off the “submityourresume.asp” and search the “sitename.com” to see what the website is really about. If it is bogus it will have nothing to do with the job offer or the company. 5. Never pay money for anything. Never give your credit card or bank account info. Never open a bank account for a foreign company!
How are the Craig’s List Scammers Making Money?
I figured out a few but I am sure there are many, many more!
1. When they send you to site that asks you for a membership the site they send you to is usually a job listing site that promises you more job listings if you subscribe. When you subscribe the sender will make affiliate money or get free traffic to their website. 2. A bogus Government Job site that is all Google Adsense ads or affiliate links that takes you nowhere and finds you no job! They make money every time you click in frustration. They also make money if you click an affiliate link and sign up or subscribe to a service. 3. A creative person came up with idea of having their job candidates sign up for a web training call using a web-conferencing services that pays for every person who signs up. This person will get paid if you follow her instructions to sign up for the web call. In the case that I found they get $3 for every person that signs up for a 14 day trial and another dollar amount if they actually sign up. This “company” then delays the call so you are forced to hang on to the service and pay for it – allowing them to make more money from you. 4. Foreign countries looking for Assistants in the United States that are honest! They promise you the moon and the stars but really just want you to open a bank account – collect checks (that will eventually bounce) and make payments. You make the payments thinking the money is really there and then the check bounces. Because it is overseas you are stuck and liable for the money!! 5. This isn’t so much a scam but is misleading and happens even in newspapers – a great job position is advertised but it may not really exist. It actually hooks you up with a headhunter who will offer you lower paying jobs down-playing your experience or credentials. 6. Postal Service Jobs post with promises of high pay. The problem is you have to buy the test and course materials to be able to apply for these jobs. This is from a company not affiliated with the U.S. Post Office. They do tell you that but are quick to take your money for something that is actually free. 7. Very scary – although I never ran into this – if you think you have a legitimate job and supply them with a W-4 that has your personal information including your social security number. Could a job scam post lead to identity theft? Probably… so beware!