Looking for a job? Make sure you don’t fall for a fake offer.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – If you’re on the hunt for a new job right now, you may want to think twice about every offer that comes your way.
The Federal Trade Commission is warning that job scams are on the rise.
People are receiving unexpected text or WhatsApp messages.
In some cases, they come from someone claiming to be a recruiter and offering online work. They can include verbiage like offers to earn “good money” by “product boosting” or doing “optimization tasks” for an online platform or app, which could involve liking videos or rating product images.
Oftentimes these messages include promises to earn you money from “commissions” per click, but after completing the tasks, you’ll learn those earnings are fake.
That’s when the app or platform asks you to deposit your own money to complete more tasks and withdraw your non-existent earnings.
If you follow through with the deposit, you’ll lose that money and get nothing in return.
Here’s what you should do to avoid being taken advantage of:
- Ignore any generic and unexpected texts or WhatsApp messages about jobs
- Never pay to get paid or get a job
- And don’t trust employers offering to pay you in exchange for rating or liking things online, without a process for using the actual products or services you’re rating
Job scams also extend beyond the recent messages people are receiving. For more information on scams to look out for, click here for examples from the FTC.
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