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Senior Online Safety - Now Hiring
Now Hiring

You know that little voice inside your head that tells you when something just isn’t right, especially when something is simply too good to be true? Imagine you’re on the Internet looking over an online job listing when you run into an ad that states you can work from the comfort of your own home, no experience is necessary, no resume is required and you can start immediately. All you have to do is respond to reserve one of the limited number of interview slots. Have you just found the perfect opportunity?

Criminals use Craigslist (and they know it)

Probably not. You see, scammers are using online platforms, such as Craigslist, and the names of real, common organizations, like the Better Business Bureau (BBB), to prey on and lure in their next victims.

A recent scam was spotted on Craigslist in the San Francisco Bay area listings, and the BBB is working hard to educate people about it. The job listing is for a “Customer Service Representative” with the BBB, saying that there is a new BBB office in Hayward and interested individuals should call 408-679-6310.
According to the BBB, the listing is fake. Not only is the BBB not hiring customer service representatives at this time, but they haven’t even opened a new office in Hayward.

What’s difficult is that online job scams take many different turns and twists, so they can be tricky to spot and very convincing to respond to. Some scammers are so bold as to ask you for money upfront as a fee for training. Others take a different tactic, hiring you and then once you perform the work duties, you will receive a fake check. Still others will even tell you to take a portion of a payment and then send the remainder of the money via Western Union. And, perhaps, one of the most destructive types of scammer will ask you for personal information, including your bank account numbers, which can lead to identity theft.

Six clues the job may be a scam:

Senior Online Safety - CraigslistWhat can you do to make sure you don’t fall for a fake job posting? Grab a cup of coffee, relax and take these six proactive steps (some of which the BBB has included in their posted warning):

    1. Check posting dates. Legitimate job opportunities on Craigslist are usually taken down within a couple of weeks of being posted. This is because the employer found their perfect candidate and removed the listing, or opted to let it die its natural life. Be leery of listings that have been on Craigslist for over a month or any listing that is posted multiple times in multiple locations.
    2. Protect your personal information. Never give out any of your personal information such as credit card numbers and bank account numbers, or even your home address and phone number, initially. Scammers can harvest this information and sell it, or they can use it to attempt to steal your identity. Wait until you know the employer is legitimate by offering you a contract for employment before providing your personal identifying information such as your social security number, and other information necessary for employment forms, such as an IRS W9 form or background investigation.
    3. Do not immediately send out your resume. Remember, your resume contains identifying information like your home address, phone number as well as previous places of employment in which scammers can use to steal your identity.
    4. Never click on links posted within a Craigslist ad.  If the ad is a fake, that link might take you to an ostensible job vacancy, and while you are reading the vacancy, it could attempt to download a virus to your computer. Instead, open a Google search page, type the name of the potential company doing the hiring, go to their website and see if the same job is listed there.
    5. Be leery of the following phrases. Watch out for phrases such as “teleworking or telecommuting OK,” immediate start,” “no experience necessary,” “no previous experience necessary.”
    6. Never send money. When applying for a job vacancy you should never pay for the opportunity to do so.

 

There are many legitimate jobs posted on Craigslist (we posted our own job vacancy from Senior Online Safety on Craigslist) our six steps above should serve you well to help you sort the legitimate out from those of the criminals. To Craigslist’s credit, they too realize that the criminals are trying to take advantage of their infrastructure, and have issued a page full of tips to keep your experience on craigslist a pleasant one.

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