Fighting Fraud
By Better Business Bureau Serving Greater Cleveland
In May, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation was 8.6%, which is the fastest increase on record since December 1981. Retirees, and those living on a fixed incomes, often feel vulnerable to rising prices. According to Better Business Bureau (BBB) Accredited Business, Indeed, an estimated 1.5 million retirees have re-entered the workforce. Retirees, now with diminished fears of COVID and lured by flexible work arrangements, have been pulled back to the job market in hopes of securing more lucrative employment.
Gone are the days when job seekers “hit the pavement” or scoured newspapers looking for positions. Now, online job posting boards, such as Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) Accredited Business Ziprecruiter, are popular and convenient methods for consumers to use to apply to new opportunities. Scammers, however, like to use these online portals, too. BBB is alerting area retirees to these online scams after a local consumer was defrauded.
Recently, a man located in North Olmsted told BBB about his experience with an online job scammer. The consumer told BBB he “received a job notification from Peter Harrington at American Airlines about a job. In the letter, it stated that I had to pay $99 for a background check. I knew it seemed a little weird but I needed a job and I paid the fee through PayPal.” The consumer was told he would receive the money back. The consumer became suspicious and started Googling information on American Airlines’ employment and Peter Harrington. He realized then it was a fraud. Last year, a woman in Columbus fell prey to a similar American Airlines employment scam. American Airlines recommends interested job seekers visit their official website at jobs.aa.com to apply for open positions.
To help prevent consumers from falling prey to similar scams, BBB is providing the following tips:
- Research Companies First – Verify the company exists at BBB.org. Visit the company’s website and look up their contact information. Do an internet search with the company’s name and the word “scam” to see if anyone has reported a fake job offer.
- Beware of Fake Checks and Reshipping Goods – Real work-at-home jobs generally don’t involve receiving and returning money, checks, or reshipping goods. Victims of these scams are unwittingly assisting in the movement of stolen merchandise and money.
- Guard Personal Information. Never provide anyone with your personal information, such as a social security number or a bank account, until you are sure you can trust them with it.
- Shady Communication is a Red Flag – Many job scams will claim to hire individuals without going through traditional processes such as an interview, background checks or calls to references. Job scammers may also hide behind fake email accounts and messaging profiles. Mobile applications like Telegram, WhatsApp and Snapchat allow the chat creator to permanently delete conversations if questions about authenticity are raised or a scam is uncovered.
Questions? Reach out to your BBB at 216.241.7678 or [email protected]. Have a scam to report? Report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker. At BBB.org, consumers can read more about job scams, including online interview swindles at BBB.org.
