I'm currently helping a very, VERY, good friend look for a job, so I've been scanning a few sites... Craigslist included. Now I know Craigslist is filled with scams and crap, but I'll admit even as skeptical as I am in general, I was caught off guard with this one. I came across several postings that looked very legit, but upon closer inspection, they turned out to be very nasty. Here is one example...
http://saginaw.craigslist.org/hea/1061521324.html
I guess there are a couple of small details that are out of place here, but for people looking for jobs, these are easily overlooked.
1) The actual name of the company is not listed
2) The starting salary is probably higher than what would be expected for this position
Everything else looks very authentic. However, after googling luigi.sampson@gmail.com I found that he has listed this same ad or a similar version to it in several other communities throughout the U.S.
I decided to respond to this ad with the following email...
Mr. Sampson,
What do I need to do or what information do I need to send in order to apply to the job posting that I found on Craigslist?
Thank you,
Tony Mills
I immediately got this reply from Luigi..
Thank you for your interest in the Patient Registrar we have posted
through Craigslist. To complete the application process please click
on the link below.
To apply for this job click here
http://thecareercenteronline.com/joboffer/register.cfm?jobpositionid=99270
Thank you,
Luigi Sampson
I didn't highlight the link because I really don't want anyone going there. It still looks legit, but IT'S A SCAM!!!
Here's someone else that figured that out as well...
http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/etc/1042770523.html
Unfortunately, ads of this type almost always end up telling their respondents that they need to go to a special web site to begin the application process. Once there, the respondent is hit with several sales pitches, free offers that they are encouraged to sign up for and give their credit card info, and even worse... many of these sites have "drive by" viruses that get dropped onto the respondents computer (yeah, that's always fun to try to fix).
So, in a nutshell, be very careful when dealing with anything on Craigslist, even something as innocent as a job search. A few simple tips...
1) Be skeptical if the company doesn't list its name in the ad
2) Be skeptical if the pay rate is higher than what should be expected for the job (too good to be true)
3) Don't send personal information like an address, phone number or a social security number until you are sure who you are dealing with. In fact, don't give anyone your social security number until you actually have a job with that company.
4) If the "Reply to:" email is an actual email address, and not just a response that goes to a Craigslist account, be sure to Google the address and see if anything suspicious comes up
5) If you are ever told that you need to pay money or give a credit card number, or have to sign up for free offers in order to apply for a job... run like the wind!!!
All of you Craigslist predators... I sure hope Google finds this post...
Updated 3/9/09
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5 comments:
If i found out it was all a scam after the fact i gave my adress and phone number, should i be ok? How bad was this scam?
Hi Kyle,
When my friend and I came across this scam, she wound up getting a virus from one of the websites she visited. That seems to be the extent of the trouble we've had to deal with. As far as your situation goes, if you did not give them your social security number or any credit card information I don't think I would worry too much if I were you. If you did give them any of that info, I think I'd call my credit card company or look into one of the credit monitoring services for a while just to be safe.
By the way, thanks for checking out my blog, and nice to meet you. Good luck...
-Chock
Thank you sooo much for your research into this and the tips. I found similar job postings and got sent to the same site. I also thought is was a little fishy.
Yes Google did find this with "thecareercenteronline scam" in the search box.. I think you were right after Yahoo Answers..
I spent an entire day working on a resume, researching the job, thinking about interviews... calling people I knew for advice, emailing my resume to about 4 different people for feedback.. All to submit it and discover it's a scam! Im literally in tears over this. Why would anyone do this?? I exited out without following the links after I hit the initial "submit" button.
I am simply disgusted by people taking advantage of others looking for a job and already stressed. I wish Craig's list could do something about it before posting those scams...
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