With so many people looking for work during this recession...the FBI is issuing a new warning about bogus job offers on Craigslist and other job hunting websites.
It says new job scams are showing up every day....and are so slick they are luring in even people with advanced college degrees.
Slick Employment AdsJoshua Lawson and his wife recently turned to CraigsList to find her some part time receptionist work. One ad soon caught their eye.
Joshua says"she came across an ad for a receptionist in a dental office....but nowhere in the ad did it name the employer." Instead, the ad simply said it was for a "family medical clinic," and said to email a "Mallory" for more information.
When they did, the Lawsons received an e-mail back saying they would have to submit a credit card number for a background check. Joshua says "they informed us you'd need to apply for a background check before we can interview you."
However, that raised some red flags: who exactly would they be sending her personal information to? Where was this clinic? So Joshua tried to find the company through Google. He was stunned by what he found.
Same Ad, Different PlaceJoshua found the
exact same ad in
Cincinnati.....in
Columbus Ohio.... in
St. Louis ...and in several other cities, with the exact wording and "Mallory" the contact each time. Joshua says "there were multiple postings with the same contact name in multiple cities."
How many dental clinics in how many cities could have a Mallory doing the hiring?
Who is Behind the Job Listing?I tried to reach the job poster, but the listing had disappeared in just a few days, and we had no response to an attempt to email the original poster.
But the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center says it is seeing a dramatic rise in suspicious job listings.
- The FBI says many suspicious job ads appear to be from scammers hunting for credit card and Social Security Numbers
- The FBI says if you can't find the name or location of a company, never give your credit card, PayPal number, birthdate, or Social.
- And never submit to a background check if you cannot identify what company wants it: you may be setting yourself up for ID Theft.
CraigsList Offers AdviceWe checked with CraigsList, which says it asks users to flag suspicious ads...which it then removes daily. But it says you can avoid 99% of scams if you deal with local businesses and local people...so you don't waste your money.
I'm John Matarese.
