Employment scams were the second riskiest type of scam reported in 2024, according to the BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report.
CLEVELAND — In part two of our series digging into the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Scam Tracker Risk Report for 2024, we’re looking at the second riskiest scam reported by consumers: employment scams.
These scams mislead people who are hoping to put in honest work but end up having their personal information or hard earned money stolen. According to the report:
“Job applicants are led to believe they are applying for or have just been hired for a promising new position. Instead, they have given personal information via a fake application or money to scammers for ‘training’ or ‘equipment.’ In another variation, a person may be ‘overpaid’ with a fake check and asked to wire back the difference.”
Employment scams accounted for 14% of all reported scams in 2024, with people losing a median amount of $1,500.
To keep you from losing money during your job search, BBB Cleveland’s Director of Marketing Katie Hills is sharing a few VERIFY Fast Facts about these kinds of scams.
VERIFY Fast Fact #1: You can verify job opportunities on most company websites.
First, you can verify job opportunities on most company websites. Hills says:
“Always go to the source. So if you find a job that is for X company, don’t just apply on that link that they provide you right there. Go to X company’s website to see if it’s posted online, in their careers sections.”
VERIFY Fast Fact #2: No legitimate company will ask you to pay for your own work supplies.
Second, no legitimate company will ask you to pay for your own work supplies. Hills warns:
“If any company is reaching out asking you to fork over some money to pay for your laptop, to pay for any type of equipment that the office should be supplying you, that’s something to keep in mind that, ‘Hey, this doesn’t really check out, this might be a scam.'”
VERIFY Fast Fact #3: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
And third, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
“If it’s claiming that you’re going to make X amount of money for only so many hours a week, that might be a red flag to say, ‘Hey, this sounds so great, but that might not be actually true,'” Hills says.
The possibility of remote work is one of those incredible offers that just may be too good to be true. The BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report shows that about 40 percent of people who reported employment scams were drawn in by promises of being able to work from home.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For more tips to keep your money and your personal information safe, you can read the full report for 2024, linked here.
