Avoiding scams when trying to find work

The economy may be getting better, but there are still plenty of people looking for work. Before you rush to take a job offering big pay for little work, you may want to take a second to see if it is a scam.

According to postal inspectors, at least 120 people were conned into thinking they were hired to do legitimate work. The so-called employer sent a check in the mail to all the victims. They said the money was to be used to buy software and supplies for a job. Then the victims were told to send the rest of of the money, back. The problem was that the check, was bad.

The victims were on the hook for the whole amount while the scammers were the ones who got paid.

Postal inspectors say there are some red flags everyone should be on the lookout for when it comes to avoiding this hiring scheme:

–If the employer refuses to talk with you on the phone or meet you
–If the email exchanges or letters have a lot of misspellings
–If you are sent a large amount of money for doing no work

If you think you were ripped off, you can contact the government’s Internet Crime Complaint Center by clicking on this link.