5 Sophisticated Job Scams to Watch out For

5 Sophisticated Job Scams to Watch out For5 Sophisticated Job Scams to Watch out ForAccording to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau report, each year mora and more Americans are seeking out flexible work. In the past 10 years, work-from-home job opportunities have risen over 40 percent. However, with this increase in flexible work, also comes an overwhelming rise in the number of job scams for this niche job market.Of course there are the typical job scams such as unsolicited emails offering jobs, jobs that require you to invest large sums of money to be hired, and those that advertise with the obviously off-putting $$$ and punctuation. Yet, with an increase in technology use,scammers are becoming more elusive by the day.In order to help you stay on your toes about job search scams, below are five sophisticated job scams and how to spot and avoid them.1. Scammers using fake URLsThe scam You come across an online job listing from a well-known company such as CNBC or General Electric, offering work-from-home jobs. It is too good to be true? Is the company really the company it claims to be?How to detect the scam First start by checking the web address of the company. You may find that scammers have recreated the original companys website by slightly altering the web address. An example of a recent fake CNBC website is http//cnbc-inc.com. Though it gives the impression you are on a page within the CNBC site, the -inc.com shows it has nothing to do with the real CNBC website.General Electric has a page on their REAL website that helps people learn about and detect this type of fraud. Says GE, GE takes this matter seriously, and is working closely with the appropriate authorities to effectively address the issue. By making you aware of this, we hope to avoid, and ultimately prevent, unsuspecting individuals from falling victim to this scam. UnitedHealth Group wrote a blog post on their real website on the topic of job scams, as well, alerting job seekers to the fac t that their name welches being used in scam job postings.Another way to double check a potentially fraudulent website is to open up a new browser and run an Internet search on the company. Make your way to the company career page, and compare your potentially false job listing to the open positions on the real company website.2. Scammers gaining access to personal banking informationThe Scam This could be the oldest and most well-known scam tactic in the books. Even the most tech-savvy job scammers use this method because they still work. So much so, that the Federal Trade Commission recently had to refund over $2 million to over 90,000 individuals who were subject to an extensive work-at-home scam. According to the FTC, The online work-at-home operation, which operated under the names Google Money Tree, Google Pro, and Google Treasure Chest, deceptively used Googles name and logo. The operation promised that consumers could earn $100,000 in six months after signing up to receive a work-at-home kit for a shipping fee of under $4. The operation didnt tell consumers that, by ordering the work-at-home kit, they were disclosing their account information and would be charged an additional $72.21 each month.How to detect the scam If youve been offered a large amount of money for a small investment, have been requested to immediately share bank account information, or promised a quick-fix kit to all your work-at-home search troubles, this is very likely an example of an Internet job scam, with its use of scam tactics that have been used for decades in newspaper and magazine ads..3. Scammers prowling on LinkedInThe scam Unfortunately, no job seeking site seems to be immune to scammers, even one with as solid a reputation as LinkedIn. We recently heard from a member of our LinkedIn group about an unfortunate experience she had when dealing with a job offer she received through LinkedIn. The job seeker says, I gave up a work-at-home position with a reliable paycheck be cause I was contacted by someone through my LinkedIn profile. The company offered me a much better paying position and requested I leave my current position and start there the following week. I did as they requested. I worked for them for 2 weeks and 2 daysand then out of nowhere they said they decided to go in a different direction and let me go. They NEVER paid me- they owe me over $1,000 and wont respond to my calls or emails.To make matters worse, this job seekers old company, a reputable geschftsleben that allowed her to work from home, wont re-hire her because she failed to provide two weeks notice when she originally left the job.How to detect the scam In this day and age, being unexpectedly contacted by a company that is interested in interviewing you is not unheard of. However, being offered a job by a company that you have never interviewed at or had any interaction with is a red flag. If there is a sense of urgency, such as asking you to leave your current job immediatel y without allowing you to give your two weeks notice is another sure sign of a scam. Scammers have become incredibly tuned into the fact that some job seekers are desperate to make more money, and they will use this in recruiting new professionals. Scammers recognize that applying a time limit, paired with an increase in pay, may make it difficult for professionals to look at the job from a logical and rational standpoint.If you feel like you might be dealing with a job scam but need confirmation, email feedback .com or post the job to the LinkedIn group for discussion. Were happy to tell you whether the job and company would pass our rigorous screening.4. Scammers communicating through instant messengerThe scam Scammers have started turning to instant messaging services, such as Yahoo Messenger and Google, to communicate and conduct fake job interviewers with job seekers.How to detect the scam Although convenient, it is rare to actually secure a job or conduct a job interview with a legitimate company through instant messenger. If you are approached through instant messenger, be sure to request that they give you a call, and do your research before interviewing to see if the results yield any red flags.As you can see from this actual transcript of an IM chat between a scammer and a job seeker, the scammers English language skills are often lacking, they offer unnecessary details like their age, they use lots of and ?? punctuation, and they are able to provide the job seeker with a hiring decision immediately. They then ask for $369 for software programs and require payment via Western Union, another huge red flag for job scams.5. Lack of verifiable contact informationThe Scam You find a great work-at-home job with what appears to be a legitimate company and website. However, the only available information on the contact page is a standard inquiry submission form.How to detect the scam If you cant verify either the owner, address, or phone number for the comp any at hand, there is a good chance that it is involved in a job scam of some sort. Be sure to conduct your own thorough research outside of the company webpage to determine if the business is legitimate.If you feel like you might be dealing with a job scam but need confirmation, email feedback .com or post the job to the LinkedIn groupfor discussion. Were happy to tell you whether the job and company would pass our rigorous screening.Readers, what steps do you take to avoid job scams and stay safe in a job search?