Job hunting? Beware of these slick employment scams

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Now that the holidays are hopefully paid off, many people start looking for new opportunities. But employment scams are worse than ever right now. Springtime is a time to rejuvenate the yard, and in many cases rejuvenate our careers.

Tracy Bickel found her dream job....working remotely for a biotech company based in Ireland. She had put her resume on a job site. “I got a personal text and that’s how it started,” she said. After answering some questions by text, she got the job, and within a couple of days received a check for almost $5,000.

The instructions were to cash it, purchase computers and material, and get started. Anything leftover was supposed to be sent back to the company. But luckily, a bank teller stopped her from cashing the check. “The bank said it’s fraudulent,” Bickel said. “I don’t believe this company exists.”

It is called the fake check scam: You will be asked to cash it, send some of it back to the company that hired you to start your employment. When it bounces -- and it will -- you’ll be out hundreds of dollars.

During the pandemic, Muriel Casavetes almost fell for another fake job scam, after applying for a mystery shopping job thought came from Career Builder. She was instructed to test out Walmart’s Money Gram counter, by cashing a check for $2,000. She almost did it, until her suspicions stopped her. “I would have been devastated if my savings would have been wiped out,” she said. Despite the Career Builder letterhead on the mystery shopper offer, this was a classic job scam.

Career Builder says, “You may receive an email that looks like Career Builder job offers. These messages spoof our logo, but are attempting to scam you.”

The site says red flags to watch for include:

There is no face to face interview.
It is an “international” company.
You receive a check before starting work.

Tracy Bickel’s job offer from Ireland, and the check she received, were all signs of a spring job hunting scam.

Career Builder and similar sites say they are constantly looking for fake job offers like these. But you need to be diligent too, so you don’t waste your money.

For more consumer news and money saving advice, click here.

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