Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Reports of job seekers being scammed have increased recently. Job scams have been around for a while and the tactics scammers use can vary. Some try to access your personal information, while others may demand payments from you or hire you for an illegal job, such as recharging luxury items purchased with stolen credit cards.
So, if you are looking for a job, here are some pointers that experts advise looking for when reviewing potential opportunities:
The job ad is attractive but without details
In the job seekers market, employers are trying to stand out. But if the job posting is regarding making quick money or other big promises – proceed with caution.
Sarah Sutton, CEO and founder of FlexJobs cautions once morest job ads that use terms too good to believe such as: “quick money”, “unlimited earnings potential” or “free laptop” and very few skills are required…
You have questions, but they don’t have answers
Getting a call from an employer is fun, but check who they are – especially if it’s for a job you haven’t applied for.
“Pay attention to the questions they ask you,” Sutton said. “If you are offered a job too quickly without checking your work experience or asking for references and moving too quickly — these are also dangerous indicators.”
If the job description is overly vague, be sure to ask for more details regarding the job and experience requirements.
They ask for personal information
Job applications tend to include questions like your name, address, contact information, and work experience, but they shouldn’t go much deeper than that.
“If they ask you to provide personal information up front during the interview phases, such as your Social Security number for background check… No legitimate company asks for a background check or Social Security number during the interview phase. It happens following that,” Popper said.
Before giving out any personal information, Rhonda Perkins, attorney and chief of staff for marketing practices at the Federal Trade Commission in America recommended that you do an online search for the name of the company, the person claiming to be employing you, as well as words like “scam” or “complaint”… And do not trust the comments on the company’s website, they may be fake.
They ask for a payment
The only conversation regarding money you should have with a potential employer should be regarding compensation. If they ask you to pay any fees for things like special services, training, software, or equipment, that should be a big red flag.
“Don’t pay for the promise of a job, don’t make a down payment to get a job — scammers will just ask you to do it,” Perkins said.
There is also a fake check scam that can involve a fake company sending you a check that is too large to purchase something like computer equipment and then asking you to pay the excess money via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards.
Perkins explained that these forms of sending money are difficult for law enforcement to track, and even harder for people to get their money back.
