I received this email from Monster.com, and thought I’d share their tips regarding scam job offerings with you.
Money-Laundering Scams
Money launderers often create job descriptions that offer commissions or pay high daily salaries to process checks on behalf of foreign nationals. They are recruiting local citizens to “process payments” or “transfer funds,” because as foreign nationals, they can’t do it themselves. Their communications often contain broken grammar but may include well-written prose copied from legitimate employers’ postings. Here is an example of a money laundering scam hidden behind what appears to be an offer of employment:
Reshipping Scams
Reshipping, or postal forwarding, scams typically require job seekers to receive stolen goods in their own homes– frequently consumer electronics — and then forward the packages, often to another country. Those who fall for reshipping scams may be liable for shipping charges and even the cost of goods purchased online with stolen credit cards.
Pre-pay/Work at Home Scams
Although there are genuine jobs working at home, many “offers” are not valid forms of employment and may have the simple goal of obtaining an initial monetary investment from the victim. Using claims such as ‘be your own boss’ and ‘make money quickly’, Work at Home scams will not guarantee regular salaried employment and almost always require an “up-front” investment of money for products or instructions before explaining how the plan works.
Protect Yourself
What seems like a lucrative job offer could cost you your savings and more. Learn to identify the signals of an employment scam to protect yourself. When conducting a job search:
- Look for signals in a job posting or email offer, which could serve as an indicatorthat what is being presented as employment is not legitimate.
- Don’t get involved with an employer that can’t make its business model perfectly clear to you or one that’s willing to hire you without even a phone interview. Do your own research on any employer that makes you feel at all uneasy.
- Never put your national ID number, credit card number, bank account number or any type of sensitive personal identification data in your resume. You should never share any personal information with a prospective employer, even if they suggest that it is for a “routine background check,” until you are confident that the employer and employment opportunity is legitimate.
- Do not engage in any transaction in which you are requested to transfer or exchange currency or funds to a prospective employer. Remain alert for the Work at Home employers who require you to make an up-front investment.
- Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country.
Scams in the News (10/30/2009) - Facebook Wins $711M, Man Loses His Pants in a Scam