’Tis the season for holiday job hunting.
Some job seekers may start their search online. But beware: Scammers are also online, posing as hiring managers, recruiters and even human resource managers for retailers. They are after your money or your personal information to steal your identity.
Neither bodes well for a happy holiday.
Better Business Bureau offers the following advice to avoid job scams this holiday season or any time of year:
If the ad is offering high pay for a job requiring minimal or no experience, it is a scam.
If you are offered a job without an interview, it is a scam. Interviews done only by email, chat or text are likely a scam. Insist on an in-person or video conference interview, or at least a phone interview, so it is easier to detect the con.
If a job offer comes from someone using a free email service, such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo, then it could be a scam. Legitimate job offers through email will most likely be from a company email address.
Always check for job ad and hiring complaints against a company with BBB at www.bbb.org/scamtracker.
Before providing your Social Security number for a background check or as part of the hiring process, do an online search to make sure the company is legitimate. If you are still uncertain, call the company directly to check that they really posted the job.
Never deposit a check from a company before you begin working. And never wire an “overpayment” back. Scammers use fake checks, hoping you’ll wire money out of your bank account before the bank detects the fake check, leaving you on the hook with the bank for the wired amount.
Never pay upfront costs or provide a credit or debit card for training costs in order to get a job.
Many employers will ask for a voided check to set up direct deposit for payroll. So will scammers. Only share this information once you’ve verified that the company is real and you are working for them.
If you find identical job ads posted in many different cities or by different companies, this is a sign of a scam.
If you think a job ad may be a scam, you can call BBB at (509) 455-4200 to get advice and see if others have reported it.
by Erin T. Dodge, BBB editor
