Almost every week I hear from a viewer who answered a job ad….and found out later that the actual job was misrepresented.

In some cases, marketing jobs turned out to be door to door sales. In others, a shipping job turned out to be a foreign scam. And Mystery Shopping offers? Don’t get me started. But the Better Business Bureau has tips to protect yourself before you get caught in a con.

“Customer Service” and “Mystery Shopping” Jobs

Esther is a Walnut Hills woman who answered a newspaper ad for a “customer service job”…. where she would supposedly be “testing customer service.”

But the red flag: The company wanted her to test out money wiring services…After depositing a check for several thousands dollars in her own account.

Esther says the letter explained “the objective is for me to evaluate the effectiveness of Wal-Mart’s Money Gram system.”

Luckily, she did some research and learned the $3,000 check she received was fraudulent: She would have wired away her own money.

“Shipping” or “Mailing” Jobs

Aleta, who lives in the Mason area, told me she answered a Monster.com ad for a shipping job.

Red flag: She would receive and re-ship suspicious foreign goods.Aleta says “it was like offshore companies that deal with computer pieces and parts.”

“International” Jobs

And Scott from Blue Ash told me he answered a “Career Builder” ad for international sales. His red flag: He’d have to use his own bank account. Scott says “this was a company based out of Moscow, they were looking for people to use their bank accounts to build up us clients.” All narrowly avoided getting caught in an employment scam.

Red Flags to Avoid

-The Better Business Bureau says avoid job ads with grammar or spelling errors: English is not the writer’s first language, and he could be a foreign scam artist.

-Beware too-good-to-be-true salary offers, such as “$3,000 a week,” or photos of people lounging in hammocks in front of million dollar houses.

-Beware all “work-at-home offers”: Very few are legitimate. Unsure? Check with the BBB’s website to see if the companies have a string of complaints (Click above link)

-Avoid jobs asking for money upfront: Legit companies don’t charge you to apply.

-And beware generic “marketing” jobs: What are you marketing? How?

Bottom Line

The BBB says two of the most common online job scams right now involve these phrases: “Marketing” and “Mystery Shopping.” If you stumble upon either one of those terms in a job hunt, demand details about the job. If the marketing sounds like door to door sales, or the mystery shopping involves cashing checks….it may be a a case of dont waste your money. I’m John Matarese.

News Source : BBB Files: Avoid Job Scams