With summer here, many may be looking for
a seasonal job to make some extra cash.
The Better Business Bureau is warning job
seekers to lookout for employment scams
that could take money out of their pocket.
According to the BBB,
early figures for 2023 show that
the number of reported job scams
to the BBB Scam Tracker have nearly
tripled for the same time last year.
As people continue to look for remote jobs,
the organization says
scammers are cashing in.
And that's despite the fact
that there have continued to be
warnings about employment scams.
And unfortunately,
the people that are falling victims
to employment scams and job scams
often are the ones that have the
least amount of money available.
They're often cash strapped.
The BBB says there are two
main job scams out right now.
One is a reshipping scam.
That's when a company hires
agents quote to package items
and mail them overseas.
The company that you're working
for will cover your credit card.
They'll pay off your credit card
one month, a couple months,
and then eventually once you
rack up a really high bill,
they stop paying, they disappear,
and then you're left holding
a huge credit card bill.
The other is a mystery
shopper or car wrap scam.
Both involve the use of a fake check.
Employment scams can often open
the applicant up to financial
harm and identity theft.
But I think that there's still
a portion of people who don't
know that these even exist.
So you just really need to be
aware that these scams are out
there and you can find them on.
Indeed, you can find them
on all the big job boards.
The BBB says there are several
ways to protect yourself.
Research the job offer,
Call or go directly to the actual
company's website or contact
information to verify the job posting.
Check on businesses offering
jobs at bbb.org and be wary of
jobs requiring you to pay money.
If you don't at least have a Zoom interview,
the job is probably a scam.
No employer is going to
hire you by text only.
Now this
does sound like common sense.
We're probably like, oh,
we report on this all the time, but for the.
#2 have tripled from this time last
year just shows how common that this is.
And I think because times are tough,
Gas is high, groceries are high,
rent is high, and some people are
really desperate and really do need
some extra money that they might not
be as careful as they should be. I
feel like someone you know,
you think about it,
That credit card scam.
Well, they paid my bill this month
and then they paid it last month,
but then this month, oh,
it's $5000. No show.
And they do that a number of times and
they're making millions with people.
And I you know what will you might
be sitting at home saying I would
never fall for this like come on now.
But the numbers show people are
and I listen to the two wants.
No voicemails that people leave
every single day and half the
time it is people who are calling
because they have been scammed.
Just this week a woman called us because
she lost $19,000 in a romance scam.
Wow. She a man convinced.
Her that they were in a relationship.
She ended up sending him
money and she lost 19,000.
People play on the emotions.
That's something convincing.
Yeah, very, very convincing.
And I think also with the new technology
that's coming out these days,
some of these scams are
starting to look more real.
Whereas before you could say, oh,
that's misspelled or this and that.
It seems very legit.
And now that you can take my face
and put somebody else's voice
saying I'm saying something else or
even that makes you got to really
be wary about a lot of things,
even if they can get an
elderly person's number.
They'll just call and have a kid
that they're paying whatever
to just in a high pitched,
panicked voice, Grandma,
grandma comes in, you know,
Yeah, I need this money right now
they're getting ready to put me.
Then an older person might overreact
and give out a credit card
number and that's all it takes.
People go to extreme lengths.
I remember several years ago I did
a story about elderly couple that
someone attempted to scam them but
they were smart enough to say no.
They said that they won some sweepstakes.
They sent a huge teddy bear to the house.
They sent chocolate and flowers.
But the husband was a former accountant,
so he was like,
there's no way that this is real.
But the fact that someone went that
far to send them a fake gift so they
could end up giving their contact
information, Sure, plenty of people
fell for that. Mean people out there.