PHOENIX — As companies lay off workers, you may find yourself looking for a new job.
Most of us now do that online, but beware... A new wave of job scams may be waiting.
While searching online, Denise thought she found a great job.
"10 or 15 minutes later, I received an email supposedly from the boss," Denise said.
It was a $40 an hour, remote job for Atlas Construction.
Denise filled out a questionnaire and got a quick answer, "Saying congratulations, you got the job. I didn't speak to anybody. All I did was a questionnaire," she said.
Could it be that easy?
"You start to ignore these signs that maybe this isn't real," said Data Doctors Ken Colburn.
Colburn says job posting sites have become a big playground for scammers.
They try to lure you in with big-money job promises but their real goal is to get your money.
"You need to make purchases or pay a fee or buy the equipment you'll need to do the job," Colburn said.
There are some obvious fake job warning signs.
If the company website doesn't list a physical address and has no phone number or other contact information, it could be fake.
If you're contacted by a job recruiter, make sure they have some past activity listed in their profile.
"Anybody that's offering a job, you should be doing a separate search," Colburn said.
Check the company or any recruiter's name online. That's just what Denise did.
She says she found an Atlas Construction in Hawaii and called them.
"He said you're the 5th person who has called," she told us.
There was no job. Was it the wrong Atlas?
She finds another Atlas in Miami with the name Ray, the name of the man who contacted her.
"I found him on Facebook. He is the owner of an Atlas construction. I thought great," she explained.
So, she called about the job.
"He said I don't know what you're talking about," Denise said.
The posting was fake.
"You give them your Social Security number, you give them your banking information for direct deposits. I feel that's what they were fishing for," she said.
Also, check the business or recruiter profile picture and move it to Google images.
It will search other sites to see if the picture was just stolen and used.
The Federal Trade Commission offers more job scam protection.
Loading...
