As economy festers, scams multiply
LOS ANGELES – A weak labor market is hurting the U.S. recovery, but it’s been lucrative for scammers, who are bilking unemployed workers out of millions of dollars in fees to steer clients to jobs that never materialize, watchdogs say.
Many of these schemes have been around for years, promising people who send money a chance to work as bartenders, home inspectors or “secret shoppers” for retail chains. But with nearly 15 million Americans out of work, consumer groups and law enforcement agencies say these scams are multiplying as con artists capitalize on the misery of the unemployed.
“It’s an epidemic. It’s opportunity time for fraud artists, and people are so desperate to earn a living that they easily fall for the scam,” said Ellyn Lindsay, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles who has prosecuted several of these swindlers.
Although federal authorities don’t keep statistics on employment-related fraud incidents, the Better Business Bureau says such cases are on the rise.
The bureau received nearly 3,000 complaints about work-from-home scams in the first eight months of this year. That’s more than double the 1,200 it received in the same period in 2007, just before the recession began, said Alison Southwick, spokeswoman for the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Here are tips on how to avoid job scams:
• Beware of employers who ask for money upfront for training or materials.
• Be cautious of placement services that guarantee they’ll find you a job.
• Check out companies with the Better Business Bureau or through a Google search.
• Do not cash unsolicited checks that arrive in the mail.
• Be careful with placement agencies that direct you to call a toll-free number. Sometimes, these companies can transfer you, without your knowledge, to a number that charges a fee.
• Follow up with the corporate offices of any company listed in an ad by an employment service to find out if that firm is really hiring.
• Be wary of firms promoting “previously undisclosed” federal government jobs.
• Do not give out your credit card or bank account information over the phone unless you are familiar with the company.