Beware of scam artists who are exploiting those who are struggling to land a job in these turbulent times. They are stealing identities and collecting fees by offering to land jobs that don't exist.

With other venues for turning a fast illegal buck drying up, these criminals are mining the job market.

Surely, there is a special seat reserved in hell for those scumbags who prey on people who are suffering because of they are out of work.

Consumer advocates advise specific steps to take when replying to job ads online to keep from being victimized.

Continue reading "Beware! Scumbags Are Working The Job Market" »

Posted by Candice Arnold on June 19, 2009 at 10:03 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

When looking for your next great job, unfortunately you need to be aware that there are people who are looking to take advantage of you. Although the story they tell will change, a scam falls into one of two basic categories: 1. An attempt to get you to pay money; 2. An attempt to steal your identity.

How do they attempt to get you to pay money? Someone may pose as a recruiter stating he/she has a great employer with a high paying job, and all you need to do is pay a placement fee. Another variation of this tactic is to offer you "exclusive" job leads - leads that you can't find elsewhere, and you can't see until you pay a fee. Or there are "Work at Home" jobs where you are required to pay a fee for the initial packet of materials.

A good rule of thumb: NEVER pay for a job, or a lead to a job. Read the last sentence again, and let the word "never" sink into your head. No matter what the story is, or how convincing the person is, NEVER pay money. If you follow this rule of thumb, you will never get taken by this type of scam.

How do they attempt to steal your identity? You could receive a job offer, without ever meeting anyone face to face. Does this sound ridiculous? It should, but it won't when they tell you their story - because they'll make it sound real. The story changes every time, but usually is something like this: a major company outside of the US needs to transfer money into the US, or needs to deposit money from US sales, and will pay you a (a specified amount, or a percentage of the transaction) to put the money into your bank account. They will tell you this is a great job that pays great money, and you only have to work a few hours each week.

A good rule of thumb: NEVER give your credit card number(s), social security number, bank account number(s), or date of birth to any prospective employer without first meeting with the employer face to face. Resist the pressure to "act now" for a great opportunity that will have to go to someone else - let someone else get their identity stolen. If the employer does not have a local representative to meet with you in a face to face interview, you'll only need to do a little research to find this great opportunity is nothing more than a scam.

Protect Yourself: When something sounds too good to be true you can research companies through the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission. You can find more detailed information on crimes committed via the internet and how to avoid them, from the US Government's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

This is a guest post by GadBall. It is a free service to job seekers brought to you by Data Frenzy - the world's largest job distribution company. This site utilizes the advanced technologies, job board partnerships and employer relationships to provide a comprehensive free resume distribution site.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates seeking entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Candice Arnold on October 30, 2008 at 5:22 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Stephen Wesley, the Emery Unified School District superintendent who resigned Wednesday over allegations he falsified his resume, publicly apologized Thursday for embroiling the district in controversy.

Wesley's apology came during the public comment portion of the previously scheduled district Advisory Committee meeting, a day after school board trustees voted unanimously to accept the superintendent's resignation.

Wesley admitted his mistake and said he still wants to be part of this community, according to school board vice president Kurt Brinkman.

Brinkman said Wesley told the crowd at the meeting that he was on his way to Arizona when he decided to head back.

"That took a lot of guts. I have more admiration for the man than I ever had before," Brinkman said.

Wesley's appearance, which was not scheduled, didn't come as a surprise to supporters, who credit Wesley with strengthening the tiny district wedged between Oakland and Berkeley. Continue reading ...

Article by, Jason Morris and courtesy of EmployeescreenIQ

Posted by Candice Arnold on September 10, 2008 at 10:50 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Last month, a French court ruled that ebay must pay $61 million to LVMH for allowing the sale of fake luxury goods on its site. Though ebay is appealing the ruling, it's a fascinating case that is garnering widespead attention for its implications on how business is conducted on the web. There are good arguments to be made on both sides of the issue, but I basically feel that sites like ebay should make reasonable, good-faith attempts to prohibit sales of the types of merchandise at issue in the ruling. The site should not be required to bare unreasonable costs to do so, but the auction site and others like it should be required to implement reasonable, appropriate, and sensible policies that attempt to prohibit, block, or remove from the site such transactions. I will clearly admit that I have no idea exactly what those policies, technologies, or restrictions would look like and what impact they might have on ebay's business model, but my guess is that we'll soon find out thanks to the French court.

In some ways, the same issues inherent in the ebay ruling are akin to those that could be applied to a media company running advertisements for its clients/advertisers. What responsibility does a media company have to screen its customers and the products or services they are advertising? It's a tricky, complex topic with few easy answers. But despite the grayness surrounding the issue, there are, without a doubt, some easy answers that at least begin to bring a hint of clarity to the issue. Unfortunately, not all media companies choose the right side of those easy answers.

The Employment Guide continues to run scam ads, the worst of which is the postal jobs ads that run every week in every single issue of the Employment Guide nationwide, that take advantage of the most vulnerable in our society and prey on ignorance and desperation. I've written about this topic quite a bit over the past few years, and will continue to do so until the Guide and other newspapers stop running these heinous ads. There is absolutely no question, none whatsoever, that the Employment Guide is fully aware of how fraudulent the advertiser is in this case (it takes a 5 minute phone call to figure it out). That alone makes them guilty of aiding and abetting a criminal.

But even worse, the company running the postal ads is undoubtedly the Employment Guide's single largest customer, spending what I'd estimate is somewhere between $500,000 - $1,000,000 per year with the Guide (50+ markets, $200-$300 per week, 52 weeks a year). That fact alone places an even higher level of responsibility on the Guide to ascertain the legitimacy of their biggest customer. The fact that they blatantly shirk this responsibility to their readers, their employees, and their legitimate advertisers (however few remain) is a testament to both how negligent the Guide is and how desperate they are for revenue. The French court would undoubtedly rule against the Employment Guide in this case. At the very least, anyone considering buying the Guide should substantially reduce their offering bid to account for the facts that not only is the Guide's largest customer a fraudulent company, but the Employment Guide has engendered years of ill-will among its readers and customers by running these horrendous ads.

Article by Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on July 10, 2008 at 2:06 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

As I've written about before, the Employment Guide has been running ads for one of the biggest sleazebags in the recruitment advertising industry for as long as I can remember. This guy runs ads charging $24.99 for emplyment applications and test prep materials for postal jobs and other government jobs, all of which are freely available on federal government web sites. These ads are typically run in those free weeklies around the country that have absolutely no regard for their readers and have no qualms about profiting from disreputable advertisers.

What I hadn't realized until recently, however, is that this same scumbag is running his bogus job ads in daily newspapers around the country, including the Duluth News, the Chattanooga Times, the Des Moines Register, and the Grand Forks Herald. I guess when your revenue is deteriorating as rapidly as it is for the dailies and reputable advertisers are abandoning your media in droves, you have to replace that revenue with whatever advertisers are willing to buy ads in your daily paper. Apparently for these dailies, it doesn't matter at all how significant the disservice is to their readership. It's no wonder that the dailies are struggling. When you don't care in the least about what goes in your paper, it's only a matter of time before your readers don't care in the least about finding alternatives.

Article by Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on March 26, 2008 at 4:00 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Reprinted courtesy of TheCareerNews.com

WASHINGTON, DC -- There's a new twist on the old counterfeit check scam. Criminals are targeting job seekers -- presumably the very people who can least afford to be cheated out of more than $2,000. The scam has surfaced in Wilmington, Delaware, where victims were enticed by a small ad in the News Journal, a local newspaper.

"No experience necessary -- paid training," the ad promised.

Continue reading "Job seeker scam surfaces in Delaware" »

Posted by Sarah Ennenga on October 26, 2007 at 9:13 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Continue reading "Work At Home Scams Are Dead" »

Posted by Eddy Salomon on August 28, 2007 at 5:29 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

You've posted your resume to Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, YahooHotJobs.com, etc., and begin monitoring your inbox eagerly for responses from recruiters with that dream opportunity. You respond quickly to any and all inquiries, some of which request that you to go to the company or recruiting firm's website to submit further information. You have now entered the Internet Danger Zone.

Here is a possible scenario: You've received an e-mail indicating the sender has seen your resume online and has a potential opportunity that seems to be an excellent match for your qualifications. The e-mail has a form for you to fill out and submit, or contains a link to a website where you are asked to provide further information for your "application."

Continue reading "Online Job Search: Beware of Spoofing, Phishing, and Other Scams" »

Posted by Sarah Ennenga on August 22, 2007 at 2:01 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

A new crop of mystery shopping scams has popped up all across the United States, offering consumers the opportunity to make “easy money” by cashing a large-sum cashier’s check and evaluating the service they receive.

The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), the largest professional trade association dedicated to improving service quality through the use of mystery shoppers, advises the public to disregard letters or classified ads that promise fast cash and free gifts by performing mystery shopping and service evaluations.

The most recent scam asks the consumer to cash a cashier’s check and wire the money back to a specified address, typically outside the country. The “reward” to consumers – they keep a percentage of the original cashier’s check as payment.

In these scams, the cashier’s check bounces several days later and the consumer is held liable for the entire amount of the money they wired to the international address – typically between $2,500 and $3,500.

“Mystery shopping is a valuable customer service tool that has gained widespread acceptance in the retail, financial services and restaurant industries, and proves highly valuable to companies that use it to gain customer experience metrics. However, it is not a quick and easy way to make a large sum of money and receive numerous freebies,” said John Swinburn, Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) Executive Director. “It is unfortunate there are scammers out there preying on individuals looking for legitimate mystery shopping opportunities. The bottom line – if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

“Mystery shoppers typically are paid modest amounts and on some occasions may receive reimbursement for required purchases,” Swinburn said. “Legitimate mystery shopping companies will never promise large sums of fast cash or require consumers to pay an up-front fee to become a mystery shopper.”

Prospective shoppers looking for legitimate mystery shopping companies can simply visit the MSPA Web site. There, they can find information on how to register to be a shopper with an MSPA company, what jobs are available in their region, and additional information on the mystery shopping industry.

The following tips are provided for those interested in becoming a mystery shopper:

- Respond directly to the companies that post the assignments (not to MSPA).

- Sign up with as many companies as you can. If a company asks you to pay, decline and move on to the next company.

- Be patient. It takes time, sometimes months or even longer, to be contacted with an offer to conduct a shopping assignment.

- Once assigned a shop, ensure it is completed according to the guidelines set forth by the mystery shopping client. Shoppers who do a good job have a much higher likelihood of being invited back for future assignments.

- Prospective shoppers should never need to pay a fee to become a mystery shopper. If a shopper receives an email or visits a Web site that requests a fee, simply disregard it.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on July 27, 2006 at 10:50 AM | Leave a Comment (0)