During the good times and in times of recession, landing a job is not an easy task, and if during your job search, you get scammed in, it can be somewhat devastating. This is exactly how some unemployed people feel who reply to job listings on Craigslist. If you’re actively looking for work online, be alert, vigilant and learn what to stay away from by reviewing some common scams below.
Writing Samples
The primary target for this scam are freelance writers and recent college grads who have a very good command of the English language.
The premise of this scam functions on generating unique content. Basically, in professions such as SEO, people are frequently seeking numerous ways to put in well-written up-to-date content on their website in their anticipation of being visible on the first three pages of a major search engine. Freelance writers are affordable, commonly ranging from $5 for 400 words up to $20 for 800 words. However various ripoff artists are managing sites that require them to get 1000s of pages of content, or they could even be in the guide of a freelance writer on popular websites such as freelancer.com.
How it works is a job listing is made for writers. As soon as you communicate your interest you are expected to present some writing samples. The scammer will give you a subject along with a deadline to turn your work in to be eligible to be picked. After you send in your sample, that is the last line of communication you will get from them.
Therefore it is highly recommended that you check out that the business is legit form the get-go prior to sending in your work samples, (which is free work to the scammer). Having a physical office or the proper industry credentials is somewhat difficult for scam artists.
Web based Job Postings
For people who have applied for job positions online and some of the email responses contain web links. Be very cautious if the emails ask you to fill out an online application with a link. Sometimes, you’ll have to sign up for an account, and they request your personal information such as name, age, gender, and never any questions related to the job at all. Furthermore, it is against the law for an employer to your age. A real job position will request an interview based on your experience and qualifications and only need your personal information once they hire you for the opening.
Another Bold Example:
A scammer used a genuine classified ad listed by a popular non-profit in the local city, and put up a another posting just two weeks later. It all appeared very believable, since every person in the local area recognized that this non-profit had a vacancy for a new executive marketing VP, since that the previous individual had passed away a short time ago.
Individuals in the community who applied were informed to go to a particular website to fill out an application. However at that website, it required that you see a few commercial ads to start, and then you would be permitted to fill out the application. Ultimately this fake process came to a halt and you are never taken to the online application. As you would expect, your email will be sent loads of unsolicited emails for various offers.
Don’t Publish Your Resume on Craigslist
Everybody wants to get the maximum exposure when they are looking for a job, particularly when it is critical to find a new job immediately. Even so, resist the temptation to publish your resume openly online on Craigslist. For the reason that Craigslist is free of charge to all, anybody is able to take your information. Apply to jobs with the company’s website, in person, even though it is time consuming and disheartening from time to time.
Another report on Craigslist Scams – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPGRdyO53Sk