Decoding Employment Scams: How Fraudsters Ask for Money
In the pursuit of a new job opportunity, encountering an employment scam can be a particularly devastating experience. Unfortunately, these scams are increasingly prevalent, especially in the digital job hunting landscape. They leverage your need for employment and coax you into paying money, sharing personal information, or both. This article outlines various ways fraudsters might ask for money during recruitment scams and gives examples to help you better identify such situations.
Upfront Payments for Training or Equipment
One common ploy involves scammers posing as potential employers insisting that certain training or equipment is necessary for the job. These might be proprietary software, online training courses, or starter kits.
For example, a scammer might offer you a remote job opportunity, then claim you need a specific software program that's only available through them. You're told to purchase it upfront, and they'll reimburse you in your first paycheck. Once you've paid, however, the scammer disappears, and you never hear from them again.
Relocation and Housing Scams
Relocation scams exploit job seekers' willingness to move for promising job opportunities. Scammers will present an enticing job in a different city or even abroad, followed by an offer to assist with your relocation. This "help" often involves a referral to a supposedly trusted third-party service, such as a housing agency, travel agency, or legal firm, to ease your transition.
The fraudster, posing as your employer, may ask you to pay upfront to this third-party to secure housing, manage visa applications, or handle other related services. However, these third parties are often either controlled by the scammers themselves or are entirely non-existent entities created to lend credibility to the scam.
For example, you might be offered a role in another country, and the 'employer' provides a contact for a 'trusted' real estate agency to assist in finding suitable accommodation. You're asked to transfer funds to this agency to hold an apartment. Once payment is made, both the 'employer' and the 'agency' vanish, leaving you without a job or the secured housing.
Overpayment Scam
Another common trick involves overpayment. After 'hiring' you, the scammer sends you a check or makes a direct deposit exceeding the agreed-upon salary. They then claim it was an accounting error and ask you to refund the excess amount, typically through an untraceable method like a wire transfer.
For instance, they might send you a check for $3,000 for your first week's work, then tell you they meant to send $300 and ask you to wire back $2,700. In reality, their initial check or deposit will bounce, and you'll be out the money you sent.
Fee-Based Job Placement Services
In this scam, fraudsters present themselves as recruitment agencies that guarantee job placement for a fee. Once the payment is made, however, they provide little to no service, and the promised job never materializes.
An example might be a company that claims they can guarantee you a job at a prestigious company for a small fee of $500. You pay the fee, but the job never exists, and you're unable to recover your money.
Reshipping Scam
Although not directly asking for money, this scam involves you in illegal activities that might cost you financially. In a reshipping scam, you're hired to receive packages (usually high-priced goods), repackage them, and then ship them, typically to locations outside your country. These goods are usually bought with stolen credit cards. When law enforcement tracks down the purchases, they lead to your doorstep.
Pyramid Schemes
In a pyramid scheme, the primary income is not derived from selling products or services but from recruiting more members. Each member pays an upfront fee to join. While technically these scams involve a job of sorts, the money flow is in the wrong direction: from the employee to the employer.
An example could be a scammer trying to recruit you to sell a particular product. They require a $200 upfront fee to join the company and get your starter kit. The real money isn't in selling the product, but in recruiting more people who also pay the $200 fee.
Conclusion
As a rule of thumb, remember that legitimate employers will pay you for your work, not the other way around. Be skeptical of job opportunities that require upfront payments, promise unusually high returns, or fail to provide clear, detailed information about the role and the company. Always research thoroughly and trust your instincts when something feels off about a job opportunity.
