Jun 29, 2009 4:55 pm US/Central
Beware Of Online Jobs Scams
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
-
-
Beware of online job scams that require you to buy something in order to start the job.
CBS
It's been 26 years since unemployment has been this high in the Chicago area. New numbers just out show more than 185,000 of your friends and neighbors here lost their jobs in the last year. That's 512 jobs lost just in the Chicago area every single day.
Looking for a new job is never a pleasant experience. And now something new for out-of-work people to worry about: an increase of online job scams. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports on what you should watch out for.
"It seems as if all the time the little guy gets screwed over," said Mike Maroulis.
All Mike Maroulis wants is a job. But he says when he searches popular online job sites, what he sometimes finds are scams. He thinks he was a victim when he went to a listing and put in his cell phone number, and it was sold to telemarketers who ran up his bill with text messages.
"By the time I was able to get all the messages stopped, the bill was up probably about $80 or $90 more than normal," Maroulis said.
Maroulis is among the many job seekers complaining about online job scams. The Better Business Bureau has stats on online work-at-home scams. Last year it received 111 complaints. So far this year, they already have 104.
"Job scams online are growing because there are a lot of vulnerable, out of work people," said employment expert John Challenger.
And those people are looking for jobs online. Other scams you need to watch out for include listings that require you to buy something in order to start the job. And Challenger says be wary of promises of government jobs.
"They list several types of jobs and there's no specific job," Maroulis said. "I don't know that these sites are taking those extra steps to ensure that only legitimate postings are going online."
So how do online sites like Careerbuilder.com protect job seekers from job scams? Officials wouldn't talk to CBS 2 on-camera, but they did respond by e-mail. The company says it pre-screens all employers and constantly monitors the site for scams.
But Challenger says it's tough for any job site to catch everything, so it's important for job seekers to be careful and avoid listings that don't clearly offer a position.
"It's so easy to fool somebody, especially someone who wants to be optimistic and wants to have the hope they'll find a job," Maroulis said.
Maroulis is still hoping, but a lot smarter now about his online search.
If you think you've come across an online job scam, you should report it to the
Better Business Bureau or the
Attorney General's office.
Click here for tips on how to avoid internet employment scams.
We can also help you find a job with a new feature on our website. It might be the place to spark your new career.
Click here for more information.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
The Tattooed Ladies of Hollywood
Click to enlarge
7-Year-Old Girl Shot In Head On Southeast Side 1 hr 1 min ago 
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments