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How to Avoid Online Job Scams

online-job-scam-avoidanceBy Adrienne Erin
Online Career Tips, Contributor

With more people and places allowing job applications to be done online, the risk of getting your identity and information stolen from a fake online job application continues to grow. For this reason, you must proceed with caution and double check to make sure the job that you are applying for is the real deal and not a scam.

But in an era when some of the best job offers to be found are listed on Craigslist of all places, how do you know what to look for and what to give a wide berth? Here are some ideas.

Too Good To Be True

As you might expect, you should be feeling a red flag if you come across something that is way too good to be true. If you are offered the job without sending in an application, having an interview, or even having a conversation with the employer, you can be fairly certain that this is not someone you want to send your information to.

Some places are going to offer you the ability to get rich quick, without doing much work. Yet another red flag! Sorry to break it to you, but life is just not that easy. These people are trying to get you to sign on and then steal your information so they can make a profit off of your personally identifying details. There are also many scams that say you can work from home. Be wary on these, too, even though they can be legit opportunities in some cases.

Spam Emails

From my personal email, to my work email, and even reaching back to my school email, I am constantly getting slammed with emails saying that I have been chosen from a large group of people to participate in a new business venture. Most of the time these emails are ridden with grammatical errors and honestly don’t sound like they were written by a native English speaker.

If you receive these, be sure to check the email address that they are coming from. The email is usually really bizarre like 13ghtjd@gmail.com. If it were from a legitimate company, why would they be emailing you from a Gmail or a Yahoo account?

As a general rule, you should be approaching the employer… not the other way around. An exception might be if you are contacted by a legitimate company on a service like LinkedIn – but even then, be wary.

Payment Required

Jobs that require you to make an initial payment to their company before you are hired, or even apply, are obvious scams. Don’t respond to any listings that require a payment, or that require you to deposit a check, before you’ve met anyone or filled out any paperwork.

So What Is Safe?

You can normally assume that if the job is posted on the website of the company that it is legitimate. For example, if you are applying for a job with Empire Heavy Machines, and the listing is on their website, empire-cat.com, it’s pretty safe to assume that the job is not a scam.

And Craigslist?

Craigslist can be a tricky topic. I, from personal experience, have never had any problems using Craigslist. In fact, I found my first college internship on that site. But I went about it in a smart way. I found the company on the Internet, and did some research about them before ever making contact. After applying I had an interview and such, so I knew it was real.

Sometimes, Craigslist ads will not list any identifying information about the company. Instead of just throwing your resume at them – they could really be anyone – it’s a good idea to simply email them and ask for more information about the company. Just say that you were interested in learning more about them and ask to see a website. You could even say you’ve got your eye out for scams! No legitimate employer will be offended by your cautiousness.

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