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Beware of summer job scams| What to look out for

According to the Better Business Bureau 30-percent of employment, scams happen during the summer.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — With summer here, many may be looking for a seasonal job to make some extra cash. The Better Business Bureau is warning job seekers to look out for employment scams that could take money out of their pocket.

According to the BBB 30-percent of employment, scams happen during the summer.

The organization said criminals will pose as a company looking to hire, send you a check to buy equipment—then ask you to send back any money left over. Victims quickly find out the check was fake and now need to pay back the money.

This happened to one man who applied for a fully remote office assistant job for a fake company headquartered in Statesville.  

“He was told he needed to book hotel rooms and he was given a check for almost $13,000 and was told to deposit it into his bank account,” BBB Director of Communications Lechelle Yates said.  “Well in the meantime, his instructions changed, and he was told to instead send $3,000 via CashApp to another assistant so he did. Well after he did that the bank came back to him and said you know what that check bounced and now you are on the hook for $3,000." 

RELATED: 'They're doing the dirty work & they don't know it': FBI says unsuspecting job seekers are working for scammers

The BBB said the types of jobs where it usually sees scams are for remote workers, secret shoppers, wrapped vehicles, nannies, or caregivers. Employment scams can often open the applicant up to financial harm and identity theft.

“So, there are lots of dangers out there once you start handing out personal information to a company or in this case scammer to somebody that you never met,” Yates said. “That you haven't in most cases even talked to on the phone because a lot of times and in most instances these job scams are done via text or email."

The BBB says there are several ways to avoid job scams:

  • Research the job offer. Call or go directly to the actual company's website for contact information to verify the job posting.
  • Check on businesses offering jobs at BBB.org.
  • Do an internet search with the name of the employer and the word “scam” to see if there are reports involving job scams.
  • Examine the email address of those offering jobs to see if it matches the protocols used by an actual company. Be alert to Gmail business email addresses.
  • If you don't at least do a Zoom interview, the job is probably a scam. No employer is going to hire you by text only.
  • Watch out for on-the-spot job offers. You may be an excellent candidate for the job but beware of offers made too quickly or without an interview.
  • Beware of jobs that involve receiving and forwarding money.
  • Don’t fall for a fake check scam. BBB is not aware of any legitimate job offers that send checks to applicants and ask them to send money to a third party. 

RELATED: Thousands of jobs available across the Triad 

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