December is the month where many of us migrate to the mall and different shopping centers to shop for Christmas. But it also ‘Tis the season to prevent identify theft as December is the “National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness” month.
I don’t know who exactly assigns these designate months for which particular consumer protection topic, but I suspect that it very well may be some consumer watch group or some bald-headed bureaucrat behind some desk in Washington D.C. nicknamed, “Mr. Watchdog.”
Such coordinated campaigns are designed to educate the public to take full advantage of their consumer rights to better make better-informed decisions. By designating a full month to such causes allows us consumers ample time to ascertain the problem and make changes to our habits to better protect our interests, wallets or loved-ones.
National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month is intended to remind retailers and businesses that they need to not only protect themselves from a data breach but also make their employees aware of identity fraud scammers who target seasonal help. ut December is a month were identity thieves will often target holiday seasonal job applicants looking for work through online job scams. These scammers will pretend to be a representative from a legitimate company and then post fake job listings. Sometimes they will even go as far as to create a fake website in order to collect personal financial information from the applicants.
Scammers know that finding a job can be tough. To trick people looking for honest work, scammers advertise where real employers and job placement firms do. They also make upbeat promises about your chances of employment, and virtually all of them ask you to pay them for their services before you get a job. But the promise of a job isn’t the same thing as a job. If you have to pay for the promise, it’s likely a scam.
Signs of Job Scam:
You Need To Pay To Get The Job. The golden rule is, any job offer that requires that you pay a fee in advance, is probably a scam. They may say they’ve got a job waiting, or guarantee to place you in a job, if you just pay a fee for certification, training materials, or their expenses placing you with a company. But after you pay, the job doesn’t materialize.
Employers and employment firms shouldn’t ask you to pay for the promise of a job.
Offer To Train You For Free. No legitimate company or recruiter will require you to pay to have them train you for the position.
You Need To Supply Your Credit Card Or Bank Account Information. Don’t give out your credit card or bank account information over the phone to a company unless you’re familiar with
them and have agreed to pay for something. Anyone who has your account information can use it.
The Ad Is For “Previously Undisclosed” Federal Government Jobs Information about available federal jobs is free. And all federal positions are announced to the public on usajobs.gov. Don’t believe anyone who promises you a federal or postal job.
No Company Website. Visit the company’s website and if they do not have one, or it does not have contact details, then you need to tread cautiously. If there is a company website, compare the contact numbers, email addresses etc., to what would appear when doing a Google on the company or in a company directory.
Email Host Comes From A Free Email Account. Any recruiter or company HR manager that corresponds from a free email account such as Yahoo, Live, Hotmail or Gmail is very likely a scammer. Legitimate job related emails will come from corporate email accounts.
Offer Without An Interview. Reputable companies are not going to offer you a role without interviewing you first. They may even attempt to flatter you by saying they were impressed with your resume, have decided to offer you a position without meeting you first. The truth is that you are probably being scammed when this happens.
Work From Home. If these three words appear in the job title, the chances are very real that it is a scam. Making good money in your pajamas may sound appealing, and many gullible job seekers fall for this making it the most favorite job scam of all time.
Overinflated Salary. Any legitimate employer will evaluate your skill set and experience, before deciding on what you are worth. If the company offers you a salary that is completely out of your range, and experience, you are probably in the process of being scammed.
Vague and Sketchy Job Descriptions. If you read the job description and at the end of it, you are not really sure what the job actually entails, or if the role states that there is no specific skill necessary for the job, you are probably about to be scammed. The majority of jobs will require at least some experience or qualification.
Unfortunately identity theft is the top consumer fraud in the United States, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The 2016 Identity Fraud Study, released by Javelin Strategy & Research, found that $15 billion was stolen from 13.1 million U.S. consumers in 2015, compared with $16 billion and 12.7 million victims a year earlier.
The consequences of falling prey to these job scammers can be a very hard lesson to learn which usually leads to identity theft, the loss of your hard earned money, and illegal charges to your credit cardwhich can be difficult for already cash strapped job seekers.
Be Safe My Friends
Keven Moore works in risk management services. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Kentucky, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and 25-plus years of experience in the safety and insurance profession. He lives in Lexington with his family and works out of both the Lexington and Northern Kentucky offices. Keven can be reached at kmoore@roeding.com.