I heard about one of my local friends getting get scam refund this week. I didn’t get a chance to warn her because she never told me about it. She fell for a popular job scam. The sad thing is; these scams are everywhere, even your local paper. Nobody seems to care if they advertise a scam in their paper or website anymore, as long as the scammer pays for the ad.
Anyway, here is how this job scam works. You see an ad in the paper or online that says you can make big money if you work for them. You contact them and find out they want money up front to teach you a specific trade or skill ($100 or more). In return they will hire you “if you qualify” and you will make lots of money.
Sounds okay, doesn’t it? Not really, read between the lines on this one. Yes, they grab you with the part; you will make lots of money. Heck, you to pay to go to college right? You make lots of money when you get out of college. This must be the same. It’s not the same. This is what is really happening.
They know you’re hard up for money. They take full advantage of the situation by throwing big sums of money at you. The possibility that anyone can make more money than they already do can make them blind to the obvious.
So, you pay the fee to get into the employment with the new company. The new company then sends you a course through the mail. You need to get a certain grade on the course to qualify. The questions are very hard or in some case can be very easy. You send your course/test back into the company.
They send you a return letter or phone call informing you that you do not qualify for the job. Even if you get 100% of the questions right, you won’t get a job. But if you spend more money, they tell you they can guarantee you a job. It’s an on-going scam. Don’t fall for this one.
In some cases the workplace (scammer) doesn’t even give you a test or course. They take your money and call it an application fee. Then they go on to tell you they can guarantee you a job if you take a course…for more money. There are other types of jobs scams also. Here are some tips to help you stay away from these and other popular job scams.
1. Exaggerated claims, you will make lots of money, retire early, be a millionaire overnight. Any of these things are the first warning that it’s a scam. The truth is, you have to work hard be rich. Someday you won’t have to work as hard. But, nothing will make you rich overnight, unless you won the lottery.
2. Never pay money to apply for a job. The only kinds of jobs that ask for money up-front are scams. A real job place wouldn’t need to charge you money to work for them. This one is a no-brainer. A real workplace would probably give you a sign-on bonus if anything. Never give money up-front for a job. Even if it is a work-at-home job.
