Online job scams: It's a billion-dollar industry involving thieves preying on vulnerable people desperate for employment, and experts say these scams are rampant.
D.J., a man from Newport News who didn’t want us to use his last name, said he almost got ripped off and was outraged by the number of scams he encountered while searching for a new job online.
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After a week of communicating back and forth, he said a woman who was posing as a legit company offered him a job.
He was excited and thrilled by the opportunity. She sent him a welcome letter, new hire information and even human resources information.
She said they were going to give him a $210 signing bonus and a check for $4,900 so he could buy specialized equipment for the job.
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He started to notice some red flags, did some research, and realized the check was bad. He figured out he was dealing with scammers.
“I'm on a job site and I've posted my resume and you're preying on me and you're trying to scam me? There's a special place in heck for you,” said D.J.
He said he was inundated with fraudsters while job hunting online.
He's not alone.
Leaders with the Better Business Bureau report that an estimated 14 million people are exposed to employment scams every year, with $2 billion in direct losses annually and they said the numbers are increasing every year.
The BBB conducted a job scam report. They said a new generation of scammers advertise jobs on the web and social media or reach out to those who have posted resumes on job boards.
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Fredlena Cosby, the BBB Marketing Manager in Norfolk, said, “Scammers have impersonated actual corporations. They’ve impersonated places like Amazon where they text you back and forth.”
The BBB says to do research on potential companies, don't pay for the promise of a job, and be extremely wary of providing any of your personal information.
“They’re either trying to take money from you or what I’m seeing also is identity theft and impersonation. That’s another type of scam,” said Cosby.
D.J. warned the bank and the companies involved about the scam and helped prevent this from happening to other people.
He’s worried about his personal information being exposed. He says although he didn’t lose money, he did lose precious time.
“Now, I've wasted a week on this job that was a scam,” he said.
For information from the BBB on the different kinds of scams and how to prevent yourself from being a victim, click here.
