Spotting job scams

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

For as long as people have been working to earn money there have been others finding ways to steal it from them. There are many job ads out there, but not all of them are genuine. If you saw a job ad could you tell if it was genuine, or if it was a scam?

Purpose of a scam

The purpose of a job scam is to get your money, or your personal information. If they have enough information about you they may be able to steal your identify, create credit cards in your name, and leave you with a mountain of debt.

Never hand out personal information or account numbers during an application, or interview. If you're asked to provide your driver's license, passport, bank details, or tax file number before you have been hired, I'd be very cautious about doing so. It could be a scam.

Spotting a scam

Scams are designed to be attractive to people. They don't want to discourage people or make them think they aren't qualified enough for the job. This is why they often have vague descriptions and little to no requirements in regards to skills, experience, or education.

If it looks too good to be true, that's because it usually is.

Just by doing one of the following things doesn't automatically mean that a job is a scam, but these are all common things that you see from scammers so just be aware them. When you're looking at a job ad be on the lookout for the following things.

• Poor spelling and grammar
• A sense of urgency
• They ask you to submit personal information before you're hired
• They ask you to pay them or transfer money for them
• The website looks legit, but the URL is incorrect
• The link to their website is incorrect, or it redirects you to a different page
• Incorrect company email, or is a free account (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo)
• They Offer the ability to work from home and make a large salary
• Offering you the job without bringing you in for an interview
• A vague ad that doesn't list any required skills or qualifications
• Jobs that require you to recruit others, your family, your friends.

Protecting yourself

If you aware of the common tricks scammers use to trick people out of their money, you're much more able to avoid being stung yourself.There are a few key things you should keep in mind.

Don't accept job offers over the phone, always get the offer in writing. Without written evidence it can be difficult to prove anything.

Be careful of who you give your private information to and be careful of companies asking for you to pay them money up front to get started. They may say you need to pay them for training courses, starter kits, uniforms, business plans, setup fees, or any number of other reasons. But you could get nothing and they'll take the money and disappear.

Don't feel pressured or rushed to accept a job on the spot. Scammers often create a sense of urgency to make you rush and miss or not question any inconsistencies with the job. These inconsistencies would have been obvious had you taken the time to look it over.

Be sceptical about job opportunities you receive out of the blue from people or companies you don't know, or haven't been in contact with. Scammers often cold call large amounts of people hoping someone will take the bait. Don't be that person.

Check whether a company is legitimately advertising a position or if a scammer is pretending to be someone else. Google them and see if they have no online presence, or if what they have said or done match the information you find.

Looking on job search sites such as SEEK is safer way of job searching. Job sites routinely remove scams from their websites but it can be difficult to tell if something is a scam. So if something doesn't look right, do your homework and checkout the company online.

For more information or to report a scam you can contact the Australian Competition and Consumer commission (ACCC). They can advise you on how to proceed. www.scamwatch.gov.au

Would you like to comment on this article?

Name:
Location:
Comments:
	Please type the red letters and numbers into the red box above. This is to protect our system from SPAM and viruses.

Previous Comments

There are no comments for this blog post as yet. If you have recently commented then please be patient while your comment is reviewed by our staff.