We know that this is a tough time for job seekers, and unfortunately that means that there are unscrupulous people who want to take advantage of you. At Jobnob, we’ve got your back. We just wanted to give you a little common sense reminder that before you pay for any career or employment services that they are real and on the up and up. There are a lot of job scams out there promising to get people jobs or interviews or access to employers that are just flat out bogus. The government tries to monitor some of these scams. The Consumer Protection Agency reported about 6,000 complaints in 2007 about employment agencies and recruiters/headhunters. Attorney General Offices of several states also try to stay involved and monitor illegal services. The Ohio Attorney General fined a company for charging job seekers money to get connected with employers. The only problem was that these employers didn’t exist. So job seekers were paying money to the 3rd party and never received any introductions. The Missouri Attorney General office has also seen complaints filed for both pyramid schemes and career services.
Other schemes have more serious consequences, such as identify theft. Some job search services ask job seekers for personal information such as their social security number, bank account number, and other private pieces of information. These are known as fishing schemes and can result in someone’s bank account being drained or credit card fraud. Another victimization scheme involves getting people to pay money for information on government or postal job openings. If you ever see this, you should immediately know that it is a fraud. Job openings with any sector of the U.S. government or Postal Service are always free. Sometimes these con artists advertise in classifieds or online postings that they will assist job seekers for free. But eventually they ask for money or personal information- at which point you should immediately know that it is a scam. In fact if you ever have come across one of the job scams, you should report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Here is a link to their complaint form https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
We know that looking for a job, particularly in this environment, can be a difficult and draining process (both emotionally and financially). But you must be sure to stay alert and not fall prey to these types of job search scams, which would only compound any problems you are having. If it looks too good to be true, it might be. Before you pay money for any job search service, do your research and make sure that it is legitimate. See if there are reviews online for the services the company claims it is providing. See if they have a money back guarantee. And never give out your personal information to anyone you don’t know.
