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Warning For All Job Seekers From PrivacyRights.org

Avoiding Online Job Scams:
Critical Tips for Job Seekers

Job seekers who use online job search web sites must be careful to avoid a type of job scam in which the applicant is asked to accept payment to his or her own bank account. These are known as payment-forwarding or payment-transfer scams.

Payment-transfer scams involve a con artist who pretends to be an employer. The con artist uses a job ad to lure an unsuspecting job seeker, or they may use information from a resume they have found online. Such con artists can be quite convincing, and may even steal company names and corporate logos to convince victims that they are legitimate employers.

After the con artist has won the job seeker's trust, the con artist tricks the job seeker into giving up bank account numbers. The reasons given for this can be clever. One ploy is to tell the job seeker they can only deliver paychecks by "direct deposit.

"The "job" a job seeker will be asked to do involves forwarding or wiring money from a personal bank account, a PayPal account, or from Western Union to another account. The other account is often overseas. As part of their pay, the job seeker is instructed to keep a small percentage of the money as their payment. Sometimes the payment for making the money transfer is as low as $15. Sometimes it is as high as several hundred or several thousand dollars. Almost always, the money the victims are transferring is stolen, and therefore, the victims are committing theft and wire fraud. Usually, this kind of scam involves at least two or three victims.

There are many variations of payment-forwarding scams. Following are very simple tips that will go far to protect you from falling victim with some clarifications noted below. Again, this scam can be quite clever and refined.

1. Do not give personal bank account, PayPal account, or credit card numbers to an employer.

2. Do not agree to have funds...