Scammers Target Unemployed
Why you shouldn't have to pay money to make money.
Dec. 8, 2008 — -- It was a depressing Google search. I typed in "layoffs" and instantly came up with a bunch that just happened in the past couple of weeks. Citigroup: 52,000 jobs. AT&T: 12,000 jobs. State Street Money Managers: 1,700. Viacom: 850 jobs. And, last but unfortunately not least, the government reported on Friday that a jaw-dropping 553,000 jobs were cut in November.
The point of this exercise was so I could point out that a lot of people are going to be vulnerable to employment scams in the coming months. You probably didn't need me to tell you that, but if I've grabbed your attention long enough to share a few pointers, then great.
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Paying Money to Make Money
The ads said "Mystery Shoppers Wanted." People who called ended up speaking to telemarketers who claimed the company had lots of part time and full time jobs available and not enough mystery shoppers to fill them. Sounds promising, right?
Here's the catch. You had to do pay $99 to register for the opportunity. Consumers who went for it complained that all they got was a worthless certificate and access to job postings for mystery shopping jobs controlled by other companies.
Most consumers got no jobs and earned no money, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC just wrangled an $850,000 settlement out of the groups that were promoting this bogus opportunity.
It's a great reminder of an age-old ploy: companies that sell lists of jobs you can get elsewhere for free; or sell half-baked training courses that don't really help you get a job; or charge for silly certificates that nobody in the industry actually values.
This scheme is always around and all you have to do is fill in the blank for the field being advertised. I've seen come-ons for postal jobs, bartending jobs, medical billing positions and on and on. No matter how desperate for work you become, don't pay money to make money.
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