Online Job Scams: How to Avoid Them

Finding a job online can be a great way to make some extra money, but unfortunately there are also plenty of scams out there. People who are looking for a legitimate job opportunity can end up falling victim to fraudsters and scammers. To avoid being taken advantage of, it’s important to be aware of the various types of online job scams and take steps to protect yourself. Check out the four tips below on how to avoid online job scams so that you can find the legitimate job opportunity you’re looking for.

Do Your Research

It’s important to do your research before you apply for any online job. Read online reviews of the company and any other information that you can find. Also, check to see if the company is registered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This will help you to make sure the company is legitimate. Look into the background of the company and their staff. Try to find out as much as you can about them, such as how long they have been in business and whether they have a good reputation. You should also try to find out what kind of training is provided for the job, as well as how much support you can expect from the employer. Doing this research will help you to determine if the job is a good fit for you and if it’s worth your time.

Besides the BBB, visit the company’s website. Does it look legitimate? Is it up to date? Next, visit the company’s social media pages. While they may not maintain all their social pages, does at least one get constant updates? Do they have lots of followers? These are just a few things to look for!

Check for Red Flags

One red flag is when the job offer does not ask for an interview. Any reputable company or job provider will want to get to know you and your qualifications before offering you a job. If the offer comes with no strings attached, it’s probably too good to be true.  Another red flag is when the position requires upfront payment from you. Legitimate jobs don’t require money from the employee, so any job requiring payment should be further scrutinized. Be wary of offers claiming to provide you with money-making equipment or materials in exchange for an upfront fee, as this is most likely a scam. Finally, be suspicious if the job offer promises high pay for minimal effort. If the job sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember, there is no easy way to make money online – anything that claims otherwise may be a scam. 

Be Cautious of Too-Good-To-Be-True Offers

One of the most common tactics used by scammers is to offer you a job opportunity that seems too good to be true. If an offer promises an excessively high salary, unheard of perks, or other benefits that seem out of the ordinary, take caution and investigate the source of the offer further. If the offer comes from a reputable company or organization, they will likely make the offer with more realistic terms and conditions. If it is from an individual, be sure to research their reputation and any online reviews they have. If they have a sketchy online presence or negative reviews, it is best to avoid them and the offer they are making.

Additionally, be wary of any offers that come with a time limit. If they tell you that you have to accept the job within a certain timeframe or risk losing the opportunity, this could be another sign that something is off. A legitimate employer usually will not put pressure on you like this, so if you’re presented with this kind of situation, dive deeper and be careful moving forward. 

Trust Your Gut

If something about a job offer doesn’t feel right, get more information before moving forward with it. No matter how appealing a job may seem, if you have serious doubts or suspicions, it’s best to walk away. Be sure to read the fine print. Pay close attention to any hidden fees or clauses that may be included in the job offer. Be wary of any agreement that requires payment in exchange for a job, as this could be an indication of a scam. You should also be wary of employers who are unwilling to provide references or details on what the job entails. Don’t be swayed by promises of high pay or unrealistic benefits. While some jobs may offer great pay and perks, don’t let these promises cloud your judgment. Do your due diligence and research the company thoroughly before accepting a job offer.

Trust your gut when it comes to online job scams. If something doesn’t seem quite right, take the time to do your research and make an informed decision.

If you’re looking for a more in-depth example of a scam, check out one of our latest blog posts HERE. Our goal at HireMyMom is to only list legitimate jobs and we do our best to research them before they are posted. If we find red flags or something that isn’t legitimate, it does not get posted to our site. 

Have you run into a scam online recently? We would love to hear about it so we can help everyone stay diligent, safe and find great, legitimate jobs. 

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Don’t Fall For This Scam

We’ve written several blogs on how to spot a fake hiring scam before, but we wanted to warn you of a new, very elaborate scam we’ve encountered recently. 

It started with an email.

A friend of mine named Carol was applying for jobs. She received a very official-looking email from someone offering her a job with a similar title to the one she was interviewing for with many other companies. The email detailed a marketing position, the title, the pay, and asked if Carol was interested in an interview. The problem? Carol never applied with this company. However, she kept good records of every place she did apply to, and there was one organization with a kind of similar name and a kind of similar job position. She wanted to make sure this was NOT that position.

The first thing Carol did was check the email address. It said something along the lines of jsmith@company.co — it matched the email signature which said something like Jay Smith with Company.co plus it provided a photo of Jay Smith. Carol then searched for Company.co online and easily found it. She looked at the Careers page on the site, and all it said was that they were actively hiring and encouraged anyone interested in their company to reach out.

Everything seemed fine. Carol was still a little unsure about it, but then she received a text message. She provided her cell phone on her résumé and in her applications, so it was not unusual for a company to have that. The text was from Jay Smith, asking Carol to verify that she received his email because he was worried it went to spam. Carol reassured him it did not and said she would be looking at it later. Jay thanked her and said he anxiously awaited her response.

She re-read the email. Searched the company again. Looked for them on social media and found they had an impressive following. The names all matched, the logos matched, everything really did seem above board, but something about the whole ordeal was bothering Carol.

Still, Carol decided to reach out. She asked what the job position actually entailed as a list of duties had not been included in the original email. Jay responded saying they would give Carol details once she agreed to an interview. That was a big red flag. Carol pushed further for the exact job description, but Jay just kept saying she would receive it during the interview. While Carol debated over what to do next, Jay sent her another email with the ‘President’ of the company copied into it. The president’s name was something like Jack, and he said he looked forward to interviewing Carol for the position. He too had an email signature with a photo.

Before agreeing to an interview, Carol then asked how Jay discovered her. He said he used a recruitment company. Carol researched that company as well. They were very official with a large social media following and a nice website. However, the whole thing did not sit right with Carol. She never went through a recruitment agency; in fact, she wasn’t sure how an agency would even get her information. Plus, that particular agency specialized in the medical field, and Carol was looking for a job in marketing. The salary listed in the email bothered her because it was much higher than what others were offering. Finally, she knew something was very wrong since this Jay person would not give her the job description. Bonus: Jay — and now Jack — were sending her several emails, pressuring her for an interview.

She searched up Company.co again, but this time she looked at the URL. When she typed in company.co into her address bar, the URL was automatically changed to company.COM. Many companies have these sort of redirects automatically set up to help get customers to their site in case they make a typo. However, those redirects will not be included in email addresses. If someone emails you from a company, it will be from the MAIN url. Carol double checked the email address, and it said company.CO and not company.COM.

That confirmed that the email she received was fake. Next, she reverse Google image searched the man’s picture in the email signature for Jay. She immediately found him. Only, his name was not Jay. It was something like James. And James didn’t work for Company.com or Company.co, instead he worked for a completely different company altogether. She found his information on the company’s staff page. He had nothing to do with recruiting or HR. He was the vice president of the company. With this information, she backtracked to LinkedIn where she found his profile. It confirmed he never worked with any sort of Company.co.

She reached out to him and asked if he was the one emailing her. He was not. In fact, he was at a technology conference in Dubai at the time. She then did the same thing for Jack. He too was a real person that never worked for Company.co and he, in fact, never worked with the real James. His name was also actually John.

Carol went back to Company.com and reached out to them, asking if they were hiring in marketing. Company.com got back to her and confirmed they used a redirect so that if anyone typed in Company.co they would get to Company.com, and they also confirmed they were NOT hiring anyone in marketing.

It was a scam, and a good one at that. They knew the type of jobs Carol was searching for, and they used the real company’s logos. They chose names almost identical to real organizations, and they used real people’s photos they found online (although not their true names, but they got close using Jay instead of James and Jack instead of John — they did use the exact same last names as these fake people’s real counterparts). Finally, she searched up the cell phone number she received the text from and found it was a burner number purchased through an online service.

Carol was not one to be deterred. She replied back to the fake email, said she knew it was spam and that she had reported it to the correct company. 

She thought it was over.

It was not.

A few days later, Carol received a text message from a different phone number. It addressed her by name. It said it was from a company that discovered her information on a job site (yes, it was a site she used frequently). The text was from someone named something like Mary. This Mary person said she wanted to reach out quickly to see if Carol was interested, and if so she would set up an interview.

Carol felt this was a scam, but this time around they knew one of the job sites she was using, so maybe, just maybe, this was real. Plus, she quickly looked up the phone number, but this said it was unlisted so it had a bit more of a legitimate feel. She responded saying she was interested. Mary gave her a code and asked her to message that code to the company’s HR department through Skype so they could set up an interview time. When using Skype (for those not familiar), you sign up with an email address and send messages using that, so Carol saw no problem in moving onto the next step.

Carol followed instructions. HR responded, and then immediately tried to video call Carol, which she hung up on. She sent a message saying she wanted to schedule a time, not chat right at that moment. The HR person responded saying they understood. Then they said something strange: they were sitting around, waiting on Skype all day, so any time Carol wanted to call she could. She did not need to set up a specific time.

Carol then asked if they could provide more job details before she scheduled a time, and that’s when they said: you will get more information on the job description once in the interview. It was worded the exact same way as when it came from the Jay Smith person days before. It was the same people. Different tactic this time with texts, a different company name, different job title (though still in the same field), and a different interview situation through Skype. But, it was all the same wording. Throughout this entire time, the HR person was messaging Carol insistently through Skype, pushing for an interview.

Carol blocked them on Skype and reported them to the site where they claimed to have found her information. For the next two months, she received emails and text messages from different numbers and addresses, all offering slightly similar job positions from somewhat official looking accounts. Carol ignored them, and in time, they left her alone. She has not received one of those messages for six months now.

So, what was the point? Carol did a lot of research on what scammers were after, but this scam doesn’t seem to be well documented online. In our expertise, we believe that they were hoping to lure Carol into an ‘interview’. Once there, they would tell her she received the job, and then they would ask for personal information — information such as bank numbers for a ‘direct deposit’ or even a social security number for ‘tax purposes.’

She was never sent a link to click or a file to download. Each time, they just really tried to pressure her into an interview to get more details.

We wanted to pass this story along to try and keep you all safe. Carol has no clue how these people received her information. Our best guess is one of the job listings she applied for was fake, but the scammers didn’t use the same company name on the ad as they did to contact Carol — scammers often do this because their listing gets removed by job sites the minute they are discovered as scams. Carol no longer uses the particular job site the scammers mentioned in their text.

If you EVER feel in your gut like something is a scam, trust yourself. Walk away and find something different. But, if you’re just not sure, here are a few things to look for:

  1. Check the end of the email address (the part that comes after the @) to see if it matches the exact company website — remember, .co and .com are two very different things.
  2. Reverse Google image search any photos of people you see.
  3. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people via LinkedIn or through the company’s website/phone number.
  4. Search for any phone numbers you are provided. If the person is using their personal cell phone, ask them to provide their official phone number with the company.
  5. If you do get into an interview that seems strange, don’t be afraid to leave it. 
  6. NEVER give out personal information in an interview such as a bank account routing number.

Carol is very familiar with job scams, and she was very careful when she interacted with these people. She told us that from the beginning she figured it was a scam, but she was curious to see what it was all about (and if it wasn’t a scam by some miracle, that would have been awesome). That is why she pursued this so far. She also ended up working closely with the real Company.COM and the two people that were impersonated during that first round of the scam to combat that and get it reported online; she said when she realized the email address didn’t match, that’s when she 100% knew, but she wanted to make sure no one else truly fell for their scam so she kept going with it.

Again, if you ever feel like something does not add up, please walk away from it!

Do you have any job scams you’ve encountered recently? Reach out and tell us about it so we can share it to keep everyone safe.

 

 

 

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How to Avoid Common Scams and Find a Legit, Work-from-Home Job You’ll Love

Over the last few years, it’s been virtually impossible to miss news about the remote work revolution. It seems like everyone is working from home–either as a continuation of an arrangement that started due to the pandemic or as part of the great reshuffling.

According to a late 2021 Gallup poll, employees enjoy working from home and want to keep doing it. Many say they would leave a job if they had to be in the office every day.

But, despite the hype, you may be having trouble finding a work-from-home job. You know the one that lets you flex your hard-earned skills, develop new capabilities, set your own hours, eliminate your commute, and reduce the cost of child care. 

Indeed, more and more employers are actively recruiting home-based staff members, and the list of jobs done at home grows every day. But, there are also some scammers out there hoping to take advantage of moms who want to work from home.

So, what’s the secret to finding a “real” work-from-home job and avoiding scams? This blog spills the tea on how to find a legit opportunity and shares some red flags that a job posting may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.

Avoid red flags

Just like relationships, job posts can throw up red flags that mean it’s time to bow out. Here are some warning signs to look for:

  • Offers for jobs that you never applied to do. If someone reaches out with an immediate job offer after claiming to have found your resume online, it’s probably not legit. Proceed with caution and don’t give any personal information.
  • Jobs that sound good to be true–especially offers that arrive via email or phone calls. It’s easy for unscrupulous people to send out a batch of emails or make calls to job seekers promising a great job that doesn’t require experience. In many cases, the message asks for access to your bank account or Social Security Number to verify eligibility or asks for some other kind of personal information. Consider this approach a red flag and walk away.  
  • Jobs that require you to purchase specialized equipment or supplies from the company before you can start work. The same goes for employers who want you to send them money before you start working there. We’ve never heard of an employer who required you to make a significant investment in their products to start working for them. Consider this a warning sign.
  • Jobs that seem to pay much more than their competitors or ask you to start at a very low starting wage and then promise a significant raise if certain (yet unclear) requirements are met. Also, steer clear of jobs that want to send a “test deposit” to your bank account or propose paying you in an alternative currency, such as gift cards.
  • Recruiters who are unprofessional in their communication with you or don’t readily share details about the organization offering the job are often bad news. The same goes for unprofessional communication or high-pressure tactics to get you to move forward in the interview process. Consider these red flags and do more research before moving forward.

If you aren’t sure about a company or a job, do some research.

  • Conduct a Google search about the company. Do they have a website and a physical address? Do search returns list problems or issues, especially from job seekers?
  • Ask the person you are working with for references from other contractors. Legitimate companies are happy to provide references and more information about their operation.
  • Check with the Better Business Bureau to find out more about the company. Also, check out this helpful article about job scams from the BBB. If you think you may have been approached by someone running a scam, report it on their ScamTracker.

 

Look in the Right Place to Avoid Issues

Although there are scammers online, the internet remains a great place to look for jobs. One sure-fire way to make sure your job search is productive and as free of scams as possible is finding a job search partner that helps you narrow in on the right type of job with the right type of employer.

Signing up for a niche site like HireMyMom.com can save you time and hassle in the job search process because you get exclusive access to a curated list of legitimate work-from-home jobs offered by vetted companies. 

This cuts down on the legwork you’ll need to do to find a job, limits the pool of other applicants, and gives you peace of mind that the listing you are pursuing is legitimate.

When you join HireMyMom, you have exclusive access to a curated list of legitimate work-from-home jobs. Moms love us because they know all applications are going to real businesses looking for help. Employers love us because they know they can find high-quality, highly motivated candidates who want to work from home.  

To help keep the jobs legit and keep the pool of potential applicants exclusive, we charge job seekers a small fee. Based on our years of experience, we’ve found this is the best way to ensure the service works for everyone. Here’s why:

  • When you see a job post on HireMyMom, you can be assured it’s exclusive. We don’t pull jobs off the internet to fill our site. We only post positions that can’t be found elsewhere online.
  • You can feel confident when you apply for a job on the site because we aim to keep HireMyMom 100% scam-free. Our team reviews each job post to ensure that the company (or person) looking for help is legit. We have a list of red flags we look for and don’t hesitate to say no if we aren’t confident.
  • We don’t charge commissions from job seekers. Once you find a job, all the money you earn is yours to keep. We don’t take a commission of your earnings. Often, free job sites are only free until you find a job. Then, they help themselves to 10% to 20% of your pay as long as you have the job. 
  • The fee keeps the number of job seekers down, so it’s easier for you to stand out in the crowd. It also weeds out those who are not serious job seekers.
  • Businesses prefer to use HireMyMom because job seekers who have paid the fee are serious about finding work. And the volume of resumes that flow in is more manageable than the numbers that arrive when jobs are advertised on free job sites. 

In addition, HireMyMom offers helpful resources to help you in your job search. Offerings include:

You can also use our full menu of Resources and Training and join our popular Coaching and Mastermind groups to find like-minded people who share your values and professional drive.

Still have questions? Check out Why Does HireMyMom Charge Job Seekers.  

We can’t wait to help you find your work-from-home job!

 

 

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Staying Ahead of Scammers

Scammers today are getting more savvy. No longer can you just research the company or individual to determine if they are safe. No, they are impersonating real people and real businesses.

When a someone impersonates a real business, it can be difficult to spot in advance. Here are a couple of articles to help educate yourself on the signs to look for:


If you have submitted any information with your SSN, here is some advice from Experian and the SSA:


From the FTC:
Complaints help the FTC and other law enforcement agencies bring scam artists to justice and put an end to unfair and misleading business practices. If you have a complaint, file it online or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.

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Spotting a Work-at-Home Scam

Here at HireMyMom, we strive to be “the” resource for moms looking for great work at home jobs. And we aim to keep HireMyMom 100% scam free. Each job that is posted goes through our approval process. We look for negative reviews and other red flags before deciding if a job will be posted to our members. And there are many that do not pass the test and do not get posted.

We want to help educate our audience on what to look for if a job starts to seem suspicious.

Here are some signs of potential scams:

• The person offers to send you a check to buy equipment, supplies or some other business items. In this scenario, they will usually send a large check and have you purchase the items and ask you to send back the remaining balance. Once you have sent the balance back, their check has bounced and has left you out your own money that you sent them.

• Another red flag is if the person wants to chat by text or Google Hangout or hires you without an interview. Normally a person hiring for a real job will use email and then interview you by phone, Skype or FaceTime.

• Also of concern is if the person asks for personal information up front relating to your identity or banking information.

These are some of the techniques that we’ve learned of scammers attempting to use. There may be others. If you have any suspicions or are unsure about a job posting, please contact us so that we can look into it further.

If you are aware of a scam, here are some other places it can be reported:

 

 

See also: Scammers Impersonating Real Businesses 

 

Let’s work together to keep scammers out of business!

 

 

 

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4 Ways to Spot Scammy Work From Home Jobs

There are many postings and listings out there for work from home jobs.  Unfortunately, a lot of these are very spammy or just plain scams.  Since working from home is so in demand these days, it can be tempting to apply for these kinds of jobs and see where it goes.

Read along for some tips and advice to avoid scams when finding work from home.

Personal information

Avoid and cease communication with any job asking for personal information from the start, as well as anyone asking for money.  You shouldn’t pay to be considered for a job, and if that’s happening, it’s not an appropriate position.

Additionally, if any employer asks you to meet anywhere that sounds strange, or says anything that sends off alarm bells – always question this for your own safety.

Too good to be true

Sometimes you’ll come across positions that sound a little bit too good.  Do you get to work from home for 5 hours per week, make $150,000 with the potential to grow that 10 times in a year?  While that sounds like the job of a lifetime, it’s more than likely not true! These types of outlandish claims are a great clue that the job is less-than-truthful.

Sometimes the grandiose promises aren’t uncovered until you speak with someone.  You might be applying to what seems to be a very normal work from home position, but you might find out that it pays very little, or requires strange networking or payment plans and requirements.  These are typically scams that might make you find new recruits and others as part of the scam.  Avoid these at all costs!

Inappropriate

This can apply to being inappropriate in content or inappropriate in requests from the employer.  As a general rule, avoid websites not set up specifically for work from home jobs, as they typically attract a lot of scams.  Also, if they are soliciting personal photos and information – or showing inappropriate photos and information – it’s not a legitimate home based job.

Repeated listings

If you see continuous postings from the same company with very generic information and skillset requirements, this is typically a scam.  You will also find that your emails get bounced back from the listing contact address, which is another telling sign.  As far as repeated listings, scammy jobs often post the same job over and over again, often taking up hundreds of pages with it.  This is almost always some type of scam trying to target as many people as possible.  Avoid these!

HireMyMom.com prides itself on providing legitimate work from home jobs from reputable companies and individuals.  Many jobs sites feature work from home jobs that are simply scams, multi-level marketing opportunities, or other types of illegitimate work that isn’t what most of us are searching for.  When you’re specifically seeking a work from home position, choose a site that’s known for this type of work! You’re far, far less likely to encounter spam and actually find a profitable work from home position.

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