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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 21, 2024 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: advance fee scam ( 45 ), appointment setter, employment, job scam ( 79 ), Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Appointment Setter Job Scams: A Social Media Threat 

  

  By Greg Collier

  In today’s job market, work-from-home opportunities seem to offer the perfect solution for those seeking flexibility and financial stability. But not all of these opportunities are as promising as they appear. A new scam targeting job seekers has emerged: fake appointment setter jobs. Advertised on social media, these scams lure people with the promise of high income, only to trap them with upfront fees and deceptive promises.

  An appointment setter is a legitimate position in which employees schedule meetings between a company’s sales staff and potential clients. The job’s goal is to help close deals by organizing appointments efficiently. Typical compensation includes hourly pay with occasional bonuses for successfully setting high-quality appointments. Importantly, legitimate companies provide any necessary job training at no cost to their employees.

  While appointment setter jobs do exist, scammers have started to hijack the concept, exploiting unsuspecting job seekers. Ads promoting these roles claim you can earn significant money from home, but there are a few telltale signs that the offer might not be genuine.

  Real appointment-setting jobs offer modest pay, with potential bonuses based on performance. Ads that promise exorbitant earnings are likely too good to be true. No legitimate employer will ask you to pay for training. If the job offer requires thousands of dollars upfront for training, it’s a scam. Scammers often claim that paying for training guarantees a job, but legitimate companies never make such promises. Some scams present the position as a business opportunity, asking participants to recruit others or sell services, making it seem more like a pyramid scheme than a job.

  Before accepting any job offer, especially one found on social media, follow these steps to avoid falling into a scam. Take your time and consult someone you trust. Scammers often pressure victims to act quickly to avoid missing out.

  Search online for the company’s name along with words like ‘scam’ or ‘complaint’. Also, check with your state attorney general’s office for any complaints. A lack of complaints doesn’t necessarily mean the company is legitimate, but it’s a useful starting point. Be skeptical of success stories as they may be fabricated, with positive reviews potentially originating from fake profiles.

  The allure of easy money and flexible hours can make job seekers vulnerable to scams like fake appointment setter roles. Knowing how legitimate jobs operate and understanding the tactics scammers use are essential to protecting yourself. Do your research, and trust your instincts. If a job offer feels off, especially one that asks for money upfront, it’s probably not the opportunity it claims to be.

  Scammers are constantly evolving their schemes, but with the right knowledge and caution, you can outsmart them and avoid falling victim to fraudulent job offers.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on August 14, 2024 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment, job scam ( 79 ), job search ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,366 ), work from home ( 9 )   

  Protecting yourself from work-from-home fraud 

  

  By Greg Collier

  As people search for job opportunities this summer, con artists have been exploiting those looking for work, particularly in the realm of work-from-home jobs. The allure of a high-paying, flexible job can sometimes lead to financial loss or identity theft, as criminals use increasingly sophisticated methods to deceive jobseekers.

  Recently, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has received numerous reports of employment scams. These scams often involve phony job postings that appear legitimate, luring unsuspecting individuals into sharing sensitive information or even paying money upfront.

  One person from Central Texas recently fell victim to such a scam. She was looking for a part-time work-from-home job and came across a promising listing on a popular employment site. The job seemed legitimate, offering positions in customer service, data input, and administrative assistance. After going through an interview process conducted via email and text, she was informed that she had secured a data processing position.

  The scammers provided her with an offer letter, payroll information, and even access to an employee portal. These elements gave the position an appearance of legitimacy. However, as the conversation shifted to setting up her home office, the red flags began to appear. The scammers requested that she purchase office equipment through a specific portal and assured her that she would be reimbursed later. Alarm bells rang when they asked her to photocopy her credit card and send it to them. Fortunately, she trusted her instincts and cut off communication before any financial damage was done.

  The BBB warns that work-from-home scams are on the rise, with some fraudsters impersonating real companies, while others create entirely fake ones. A key warning sign is being asked to pay for equipment or other expenses upfront. No legitimate employer will require you to spend your own money before starting a job.

  Another common tactic involves sending a check for you to purchase office supplies, only to later claim that they overpaid you and request a refund. This is a classic scam designed to trick victims into sending money before the fraudulent check bounces.

  To protect yourself from job scams, be cautious of high-pressure offers that promise quick cash, and be wary of situations where the employer contacts you first. Always research the company thoroughly, and if anything feels off, trust your gut and walk away.

  Jobseekers should stay informed and cautious, especially during times of economic uncertainty when scams tend to spike. If you encounter a suspicious job offer, report it to the BBB or the appropriate authorities to help protect others in your community.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 5, 2024 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment, Green Dot ( 2 ), payroll diversion, Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Payroll diversion scams plague employers 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A Kansas police department has recently issued a warning regarding a troubling payroll scam targeting employers and businesses.

  In this case, a local employer received what appeared to be a legitimate email from an employee, requesting a change to their direct deposit information to a GreenDot account. While GreenDot is a valid online-only banking service, the email was a fraudulent attempt by scammers to divert the employee’s payroll funds. If the name GreenDot sounds familiar, their prepaid debit cards are frequently used as demanded forms of payment in other scams.

  The scam was only uncovered when the employer discussed the change directly with the supposed sender, who was unaware of any such request.

  This scam is classified as a payroll diversion scam, where the perpetrator masquerades as an employee and contacts someone within the organization who has the authority to modify payroll details. More sophisticated versions of this scam involve hackers using social engineering tactics to access an employee’s email account. Once inside, they can either send fraudulent emails from the victim’s work account or gain entry to an online payroll portal to alter direct deposit information.

  To prevent such scams, the Federal Bureau of Investigation advises caution with the information shared on social media. Personal details such as pet names, schools attended, birthdays, and family member names can provide hackers with enough information to guess passwords and gain access to sensitive accounts.

  If you receive a suspicious email or believe you have been targeted by an online scam, it is crucial to report it immediately to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. By staying informed, businesses and individuals can protect themselves from falling victim to these increasingly common scams.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on January 12, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: check scam ( 79 ), employment, fake check ( 48 ), job scam ( 79 ), job search ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Scams prey on desperate jobseekers 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Pundits and naysayers will try to tell you that nobody wants to work anymore. What many claim the real problem to be is that many employers won’t pay a living wage. So, some jobseekers could be forgiven for ignoring red flags when being offered a job with good wages from someone who turns out to be a scammer.

  A woman in Arizona recently lost $5000 to a scammer who promised her a $72,000 a year job. The scammers claimed to be from a legitimate company that is headquartered in Australia, but has positions in the US. This would be a work from home position, and she was hired after an audio-only online interview. Then a scam familiar to our readers began to take hold.

  The Arizona woman was sent a check for $5000 by her supposed employer. She was instructed to deposit the check into her banking account, keep $300 for herself, and use the remaining $4700 to buy office equipment for her position. So, she deposited the check and after the check showed up in her account, she bought $4700 worth of money orders and sent them to the so-called office equipment vendor.

  But, as this story always goes, the check sent to the victim turned out to be a fraudulent check. Banks will make the funds available after a deposit out of courtesy within a few days. However, it takes longer than that for the banks to determine a check is fake. This leaves scam victims in the lurch, with them usually having to pay the amount of the check back to the bank.

  No real employer will ever ask you to deposit a check into your banking account, then ask you to use the money to pay someone else. Most big businesses have fleets of accountants and accounts payable people to make payments like that.

  If you’re hired very quickly after an online interview or hired on the spot, there’s a good chance the offer isn’t legitimate. If they’re representing themselves as being from an actual company, go to their website to see if the position they’re offering actually exists.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 14, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment, identity theft ( 107 ), job scam ( 79 ), repackaging ( 22 ), reshipping ( 22 ), Scams ( 1,366 ), work at home ( 14 ), work from home ( 9 )   

  Work from home job is just an identity theft scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  More and more employers are offering work from home positions to new recruits. However, scammers have been offering work from home positions longer than employers and know how to convince their victims the job is for real. Work from home scams go back to the days when envelope stuffing positions were offered in the back of magazines. So, it should really come as no surprise when scammers and con artists continue to find victims for their schemes.

  The work from home scam we’re about to discuss may be familiar to our readers, and it’s the reshipping or repackaging scam. In this scam, the scammers typically approach someone who is looking for a job. If they’re looking for a work from home job, it’s even better for the scammers. The scammers will claim that they found the victim’s resume online and that the victim would be perfect for the position.

  That position is one where the victim is expected to receive packages at their home, inspect them for damages, then ship them to a third party. The packages the victims receive are usually items that were paid for with stolen credit cards. Then the victim unknowingly is shipping them to another scammer who will sell the items for a profit.

  However, there is a secondary outcome to the reshipping scam. The scammers have the victims fill out official-looking paperwork as if the victim is really applying for a job. This includes not only the victim’s Social Security number but can include their banking information as well under the guise of having direct deposit set up.

  A victim from Oklahoma worked one of these scam positions for a month. When she asked the phony employer about payment, the scammers cut off all communication with her. Here, this person thought they would be paid, but instead are now behind on their bills thanks to the scammers.

  The best way to protect yourself from this scam is to know that the reshipping position is not a real job offered by real companies. This kind of job offer only comes from scammers. Be wary of any employment offer that seems to be going too fast from the time of contact to the time of hire. Also, be wary of any position where the employer only communicates with you through some kind of messaging app. These are used instead of more traditional communications, so the scammers can remain virtually anonymous.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on May 3, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: check scam ( 79 ), employment, job scam ( 79 ), Scams ( 1,366 ), work from home ( 9 )   

  BBB warns of work from home job scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  During the height of the pandemic, many jobs that had previously been done in offices were changed to work from home positions. To many, this showed that commuting to an office every day wasn’t necessarily needed for their jobs. When companies started calling their workers back to the office, many workers decided to find other work from home positions instead. While this can be seen as a positive for workers looking for more of a balance between their work and home lives, it’s also been a positive for scammers.

  Work from home scams are hardly new and even pre-date the internet. In the analog days, scammers would take out want ads in newspapers offering work at home jobs stuffing envelopes. Now, with our modern internet, work from home scams have become more prevalent and more dangerous. Then add to that the pandemic showed us the viability and legitimacy of work from home positions, work from home scams are experiencing a renaissance.

  With this, the Better Business Bureau is issuing a new warning about an old job scam. In this scam, the scammers will tell a victim that they found the victim’s resume online and want to hire them. The victim will then be instructed to move the conversation to a messaging app like Telegram. After a faux-interview over the messaging app, the victim is hired and is asked to sign a contract that asks for their name, address, and date of birth, along with their banking information. This leads to identity theft, but the damage doesn’t always end there.

  In some cases, the victims are sent checks and are told to deposit them in their bank accounts. They’re then instructed to use that money at a specific vendor to purchase office supplies, such as a laptop. Both the phony employer and phony vendor are in on the scam. Once the victim’s bank discovers the check is a fake, the victim will be held responsible for the amount of the check.

  With any job offer that you didn’t apply for personally, you should always research the company first. Use the company’s name along with the terms ‘scam’ or ‘review’ to see how other people have interacted with them. Be wary of any company that doesn’t perform interviews in some personable manner. If everything is done over text, email or messaging app, there’s a pretty good chance you’re being scammed. Lastly, no legitimate company will ever ask you to use your personal bank account to pay for company expenses.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 7, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment, job scam ( 79 ), LinkedIn ( 3 ), Scams ( 1,366 ), social media ( 79 )   

  Even LinkedIn has job scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  When we think of social media scams, we normally think of platforms like Facebook and Instagram. When we think of online job scams, we might typically think of platforms like Craigslist. When it comes to job scams on social media, we don’t usually think of LinkedIn. While it may not be LinkedIn’s intention, the social network gives off an impression that it’s for professionals to network with other professionals. LinkedIn may also give its users a false sense of security when it comes to being recruited by an employer. What many LinkedIn users seem to forget is anybody can open a LinkedIn account under any name they want. Anybody can claim to hold a position that they don’t currently hold, such as job recruiter.

  The Better Business Bureau is warning LinkedIn users that phony job recruiters are scamming victims out of money and personal information. In one instance, an Indiana woman was hired rather quickly for a work at home position she applied for on LinkedIn. The woman was asked by her supposed employer to open a bank account in her name to book a conference for the phony company. Thankfully, she realized it was a scam before she opened the account. Unfortunately, others have not been so lucky.

  In other instances, the phony recruiters have asked for money upfront for training or business supplies. After the victims have paid the recruiter, the job never materializes. This is after the victim has supplied the recruiter with their personal information during the application process. This often leads to the applicants becoming victims of identity theft.

  The best way a LinkedIn user can protect themselves against this scam is to thoroughly research the company and the recruiter offering the position. If their profiles are filled with grammatical errors, the odds are pretty good they’re scammers. You can also ask to speak to the recruiter on the phone. While it’s not a guarantee of dissuading a scammer, it will go a long way in weeding many of them out.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on February 14, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bitcoin ( 32 ), check scam ( 79 ), cryptocurrency ( 51 ), employment, Indeed, job scam ( 79 ), Scams ( 1,366 )   

  Contemporary job offer is same old scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning over a company that offered positions in cryptocurrency trading that was allegedly a scam. Several people have reported applying for a position on the job board Indeed that ended up costing the victims thousands of dollars. The position was said to be for a portfolio manager for stock and Bitcoin, but instead, the victims were used as money mules. While dealing in Bitcoin trading may seem like a job of the future, in this instance, it turned out to be one of the oldest job scams in the books.

  Right off the bat, the victims received payments in their own bank accounts. They were then instructed to use the money to purchase Bitcoin for clients. One victim even used his own Cash App account to purchase the cryptocurrency. A few days after receiving the payments and having already bought Bitcoin, the victims’ banks inform them that the payments they received were fraudulent. This meant that their bank accounts were overdrawn by thousands of dollars, which the banks hold them responsible for. The supposed company has since disappeared from the internet.

  If this scam sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a variation of the fake check scam. Even though no paper checks were involved in this particular scam, the outcome is the same. No legitimate employer will ever ask you to deposit funds to be used for business into your own bank account. Scammers are taking advantage of a courtesy of banks that lets you withdraw money from your account before the check or payment has been verified as legitimate.

  This story also shows that even well-known job boards like Indeed aren’t immune to job scams. These scammers even held multiple interviews, albeit online, with their victims. Victims were even sent official looking documentation that outlined their job responsibilities and salary.

  Scammers are so practiced in their craft that they can appear to be a legitimate business. However, there is almost always a telltale sign to indicate a scam. In this case, it’s using your own bank account for supposed business related expenses.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 3, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment, identity theft ( 107 ), job scam ( 79 ), Scams ( 1,366 ), unemployment scam ( 30 )   

  New job scam steals your identity 

  

  By Greg Collier

  With so many job scams out there, it’s often hard to discern between a legitimate job offering and a scam. More often than not, there is usually a red flag somewhere along the line in the application process. For example, if you’re asked by the potential employer to pay for things like application fees or background checks, that’s a good indicator that the job could be a scam. Even if you get hired, there can still be red flags, such as being asked to deposit a check used for business expenses into your own bank account. But what if scammers were able to mimic a legitimate company while offering a phony position. According to the Better Business Bureau, that’s exactly what is happening.

  A woman in Rhode Island received an email that said she was eligible for a position after the company found her information on a state employment website. She was asked to reply to the email if she was interested in the position. The email appeared to come from a legitimate company in the region and even used the name of an actual company employee. The victim interviewed for the job. The report doesn’t say how she was interviewed, but it’s probably safe to assume it was a virtual interview.

  The scammers sent her a bunch of normal-looking paperwork to fill out and instructed her to verify her identity at a legitimate web portal used by many employers. After she signed in to the portal and gave all her pertinent information, she received a notification that her information was being sent to the California unemployment office. Essentially, the scammers stole her identity out from under her to apply for unemployment benefits in her name.

  If you’re unsure if a job offer is legitimate or not, check the email address the offer was sent from. If the email is from a free service like Gmail or Outlook.com, there’s a good chance the offer may not be real, as most legitimate employers have their own corporate email addresses. You can also go to the company’s website to see if the position you’re being offered is even open.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on March 8, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment, Job Boards ( 2 ), job fairs, job search ( 9 ), jobs ( 9 ), Resume ( 6 ), social media ( 79 ), temp agency   

  Seven tips on finding a new job 

  

  By Greg Collier

  There’s light at the end of the tunnel now. Job markets are starting to open up and slowly but surely several new positions are becoming available around the country. However, it’s not to the point yet where you can take the application process lightly. You need to compete for these positions and in order to achieve that you need an edge against your competition. We’ve found some tips that we think will give you better chances of finding that new position.

  1. Craft a professional looking resume.

  A resume is your best way of getting your foot in the door with a new employer. However, not everyone knows how to write a resume. No matter what position you may be applying for, a well-crafted resume speaks volumes to a potential employer.

  Both Google Docs and Microsoft Word online have great templates that can help you craft your resume and their services are free. If you’d prefer and can afford it, there are services where people will craft a professional resume for you. Feel free to get creative with your resume’s appearance but not so creative that the resume is difficult to read or looks too unprofessional.

  In most cases, you’ll be able to send your resume electronically. However, you should have several copies of your resume printed out. Too many times people have gone to interviews where they’ve submitted their resume electronically only to have the interviewer ask for a hard copy. While most of don’t have printers at home anymore, you usually can get files printed at your local library relatively inexpensively. You can also print out your resume at retail delivery outlets like the UPS Store.

  Try to keep your resume down to one page. Multiple page resumes have the potential to get lost in the shuffle. While you may have a lengthy employment history, try to limit it to the past 5-10 years. If you’ve only held one job in that time then feel free to go back further in time.

  Whatever you do, don’t try any of the resume tricks that look like you’re trying to fool the employer. The most infamous one of these tricks is using keywords from the job ad on your resume in white font. When employers scan resumes they will find those supposedly invisible keywords and will discard your resume.

  2. Use social media to your advantage

  If there’s a particular company you’re eager to work for, follow them on social media. By doing so, you may gain an insight into their hiring cycles and practices. We’d recommend following them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Make LinkedIn a priority and then follow the company on whichever other platform the company is most active on. Don’t be afraid to interact with the company’s social media either. Leave a comment on their posts that you find interesting. This could go a long way in establishing yourself with the company. Just always remember to be professional when dealing with the company even on social media.

  You may also want to consider cleaning up your own social media. It’s an unfortunate fact that many employers will go through an applicant’s social media to make sure they’re hiring the right person. Employers don’t want to find a bunch of inappropriate posts on your social media profiles. For example, if you have a series of pictures on your social media where you have a drink in your hand in every picture, you may want to make those posts private. You may have had a great time on Spring Break in Cancun doing tequila shots for breakfast, but your prospective employer doesn’t need to know this. This goes double for that time you and your friends smoked the fattest joint you’ve ever seen. While cannabis may be legal in many states now, most employers still look down on that kind of recreational activity. Along those lines, try to limit which of your friends can tag you in posts as they may post an unflattering picture of you that could show up on your profile.

  Also consider making any political or off-color posts private as well.

  And while this next tip isn’t really related to social media, we’d thought we’d throw it in here. Always use a professional email address when applying for a job. While you may have had the same email address since grade school, employers don’t want to see an email address like StonerLord420@weedmail.com or babeegrrl@partymail.com. Stick with using an email address that just encompasses your name like JohnSmith@example.com, or even something like jsmith785@example.com.

  3. Reach out to friends and family

  If you’re currently looking for work, don’t be afraid to let your friends and family know. They might not know someone directly who’s looking for new employees, but someone they know might. Employers love getting referrals for new employees from existing employees.

  If you went to college, think about reaching out your college buddies or your former fraternity brothers or sorority sisters. Except for that one person who’s still in college on the ten-year plan. They’re going to need more help than you. Most universities also have career and alumni events you can attend to help get your name out.

  Speaking of universities, if you have a specialized degree in a certain field, but there’s not a lot of opportunities in that field right now, give teaching a try. You don’t have to do it forever, and it looks good on a resume.

  4. Attend job fairs

  This is where printing out multiple copies of your resume comes in handy. Job fairs are a great place where you can introduce yourself to multiple employers at one gathering. You can usually find ads for job fairs on job boards and in your local newspaper or their website. You can even try talking to employers who may be out of your field. Not only that, but you may be introduced to a new experience that you excel at. Just make sure you dress professionally because the adage about making a first impression is true even if it’s for a more casual position. And lastly, don’t hesitate to ask any questions about the employer or the position. That will not only show that you’re motivated but that you’re interested in the company as well.

  5. Call or email an employer directly

  Most employers these days will want you to fill out an application or submit a resume online. However, it can’t hurt to call them directly asking about potential openings, even if they don’t have any openings that fit your experience. You might end up making a contact within their HR department. Then that way you could be at the forefront when a suitable position opens.

  You may also want to research if the company has a public email where you can reach their hiring department directly. Again, even if they don’t have any positions open currently, they could be contacting you when they do.

  6. Apply at temp or staffing agencies

  Temp agencies seem to get a bad rap when it comes to finding a new job. In many cases, they are a great way to not only build up your reputation with the company you’ve been contracted to, but you may become one of the temp agency’s star temps to contract out.

  A lot of companies love to hire someone after having them a few weeks or months as a temp. I was hired on permanently at more than one job after working for the company as a temp. However, even if you’re not hired on permanently, the temp position could still provide invaluable experience that you can use in the future.

  7. Don’t forget the job boards

  Some of the most common ways are the best and this includes searching for a job on the various online job boards. Companies use these boards because they work. You can use these boards to filter out a job by location, salary, and field among other qualifications. You can also submit your resume for any employer to review. Most will even let you set up notifications for when a position in your field becomes available.

  Also, please keep in mind that Geebo.com has an extensive employment section as well.