“As the economy recovers around Acadiana and the U.S., more and more jobs are becoming available on sites such as Craigslist in a variety of different employment fields. But the increase in employment opportunities and resulting jobs listings also opens the door to scammers high jacking the names of real companies to put out job applications geared at identity theft, not employment.
Even as the internet has made searching for jobs easier, it also provides an opportunity for ID thieves and scammers to take advantage of eager—and unsuspecting—job seekers. BBB has recently received reports from job seekers that scammers have used the names of real companies advertising jobs on craigslist.com to place false job applications asking for Social Security numbers.
After checking with the local oil and gas exploration company whose name was used, the human resources director confirmed that the company does not ask for Social Security numbers on their applications. The company was confirmed to be registered in the state of Louisiana through the Louisiana Secretary of State.
BBB and the United States Social Security Administration recommend that job seekers never give out Social Security numbers until they are officially employed by a company. To do otherwise would create a real risk of identity theft, damage to credit scores and financial loss.
BBB offers the following tips to avoid being taken by this or similar employment scams:
- Exercise Caution. When using social networking sites like Facebook and online employment sites such as Craigslist, be sure to check the actual Web site of the company posting the position to verify it actually exists. If you don’t see it on their site, chances are it’s a scam.
- Guard Your Resume. Â Some job seekers …..”
To continue reading, click here http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/05/bbb-warns-against-internet-job-scams/
