Consumer Handbook: An Estimated 14 Million people Were Victims To Job Scams
Employment scams are on the rise in a turbulent job market created by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent investigative study by BBB.
Last year, BBB found job scams to be the riskiest of all the scams they tracked in 2018 and 2019. However, the new study finds that the problem worsened in 2020, as losses reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center about employment scams were up 27%. BBB reports that an estimated 14 million people are exposed to employment scams every year, with $2 billion in direct losses annually.
BBB Institute’s 2020 report on job scams found that this fraud most commonly victimized people ages 25-34, with women filing 67% of complaints. The median financial loss reported by these victims was $1,000. In addition, they often reported loss of their time, as 32% were never paid for the work they did for an “employer” that turned out to be fraudulent.
Identity theft is also a common outcome of job scams, as scammers often steal job seekers’ personal information to open bank accounts to further their fraud. BBB found 34% of victims provided their driver’s license number and 25% provided their Social Security or Social Insurance number.
Fake checks frequently accompany job scams, and they continue to grow. 36% of job scam complaints to BBB involved a fake check. Common fraudulent job offers involving fake checks include mystery shopping or secret shopper jobs, car wrap jobs, nanny or caregiver jobs, and small business jobs such as photography or painting houses.
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. Do an internet search with the name of the employer and the word “scam” to see if there are reports involving job scams. If you’re paying for the promise of a job, it’s most likely a scam.
