Beware Online Job Scams - Scams Rise With Unemployment Rate!

Even though online job scams have become more convincing as criminals have honed their skills, sometimes victims don't fall for them — they jump into them.

“Even when they know it's a scam, I've had people say, ‘Well yeah, but what if I can make a thousand dollars out of it?'” said Tabatha Marshall, founder of PhishBucket.org and a crusader against these schemes. “People are hurting, and so many are willing to take the risk.”

Job scams have plagued the Internet for years, but their numbers have skyrocketed and their victims multiplied along with the economic downturn and a 10 percent unemployment rate. Criminals, always striking where people are the most vulnerable and emboldened by law enforcement's troubles in tracking them, went after job seekers with redoubled efforts.

The numbers of scams recorded by PhishBucket.org soared at the beginning of the financial meltdown in the fall of 2008 — a year when the number of scams more than tripled from the year before — and remained at new heights for most of 2009, Marshall said.

So-called money mule schemes represent the majority of the scams. By the end of 2009, Dutch risk management firm E-Secure-IT identified 626 money mule scams, an increase from the 406 detected in 2008.

In those ploys, victims often become unwitting accomplices to international crime by wiring money stolen mostly through computer exploits to scammers overseas. More than just losing their private information and their own assets, victims often are left facing criminal charges.

“People are being charged with fraud and theft even if they didn't know what they were doing. (Authorities) don't know if they can believe that. All they know is that you deposited a check, and it looks like it was all you,” Marshall said.

Online job scams can come in the form of work-at-home schemes, false offers with the logo and product description of a legitimate employer slapped in the body of an e-mail, or fake company Web sites with professional graphics, stock images of smiling executives and even news releases and legal disclaimers.

British nonprofit BobBear.co.uk, which documents online job scams, identified more than 550 fake company Web sites in 2009 — most of them reported from the United States — more than a 50 percent increase from the previous year.

Fake company Web sites often can be recognized because of their spotty grammar or disproportional compensations for easy tasks. But in some cases, scammers have taken the entire design of legitimate organizations, using Web domains with variations of the original company's name.

In others, scammers will imitate a small or medium-size business with a solid reputation and an Internet trail that job seekers doing research can find to assuage any concerns.

Criminals “know people will do research and actually want them to find something,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum.

Fraudulent job postings also have become a headache for legitimate job sites such as Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and Craigslist. While some consumer advocates question the effectiveness of their methods, in recent years they have taken a range of actions to police their sites.

Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best said the site employs “a wide array of technological and staff measures to suppress scam attempts” and that those that reach the site “are generally quickly identified and removed by user flagging.”

Patrick Manzo, head of Monster.com's fraud-detection department, said the company screens all new customers before allowing them to place job ads and uses automated content monitors to inspect the site for inappropriate content.

Online job scams were also on federal authorities' radar last year. In Operation Short Change last summer, the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on several mail, phone and online job scams, including Google Money Tree, a work-at-home ploy unrelated to the Internet search company that tricked victims into paying for a startup kit and later began draining $72.21 a month from their accounts.

Often, authorities can do little other than document incidents. Finding culprits can be next to impossible when criminals hide behind a maze of proxy networks and domains across the globe, causing all kinds of jurisdictional complications.

Researchers, law enforcers and advocates alike seem to agree that educating the public to recognize these scams is essential.

Some red flags to look out for are e-mail addresses from free e-mail providers such as Gmail or Hotmail instead of a corporate domain contact, requests for upfront fees or scans of driver's licenses and passports, or offers that do not match the job seeker's skills.

“One of my favorite ones: If a company tells you it's 100 percent legal, it's probably not,” Marshall said. “Some common sense will work in your favor, too.”

IMPORTANT WARNING - A Scam Targets Unemployed Ohioans -

When I first came across this story I was outraged. Persons who are unemployed are already strapped for cash and stressed enough. Mostly, I only post the story and avoid personal opinion. However, this story strikes a nerve with me. I sincerely wish the individuals who are behind this scam face severe federal criminal prosecution.

Please, this is important -Guard your personal information very closely and report suspicious activity such as this or unemployment fraud to the appropriate authorities.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and Attorney General Richard Cordray’s office have received widespread reports of a national scheme targeting recipients of unemployment compensation benefits in Ohio. Those targeted receive fraudulent text messages on their cell phones, claiming to be from state unemployment agencies.

The fraudulent messages inform recipients that their unemployment benefits have been suspended and to call the provided phone number to reactivate. When recipients call, they are asked for personal information, including debit card numbers and personal identification numbers (PIN). At that point, unemployment benefits deposited on the debit card are accessed and withdrawn by the scam artist.

“We want to make all unemployment recipients in Ohio aware of this very real threat,” said ODJFS Director Douglas Lumpkin. “ODJFS representatives will never ask for claimants’ debit card information or their PIN numbers. Claimants should not give this information out over the phone.”

According to complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office, several additional versions of this scam are currently circulating with similar messages that allege account problems with various credit cards issued by U.S. Bank. Recipients are encouraged to call the number and provide personal information.

Attorney General Cordray strongly urges Ohioans to disregard the message and not provide any personal information.

“This is a prime example of how a scam can mutate and adapt to changing times and trends,” Cordray said. “With the use of text messaging on the rise, it is no surprise that scammers have manipulated the system to target unsuspecting individuals. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of remaining vigilant and exercising extreme caution with personal information. In this case, disregard the message. Do not provide any personal information.”

ODJFS is working with its debit card provider, U.S. Bank, to further protect, inform and educate its customers. Anyone who receives one of these fraudulent messages should not respond. Anyone who suspects funds have been inappropriately accessed should call the customer service number provided on the back of their U.S. Bank debit card: (866) 276-5114.

In response to the many complaints received by ODJFS and the Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Bank has issued the following statement: “The safety and security of customers’ accounts and information is a top priority of U.S. Bank. We would never ask a customer to place their personal information in jeopardy by contacting them and asking them to divulge it over the phone, via e-mail or text messages. If customers have any questions or see suspicious activity on their account, they should contact the customer service number on the back of their cards.”

Cordray also urges Ohioans who have become victims of this scam or any other phishing scam to immediately report the incident to local police and contact his office at www.SpeakOutOhio.gov or by calling (800) 282-0515.