Phoenix Job Seekers New Job Scams to Avoid

Phoenix Job Seekers New Job Scams to Avoid Phoenix Job Seekers New Job Scams to Avoid The world of workplace flexibility can be a dream come true for those looking for work-life balance. However, there is a darker side that involves job scams. In fact, it’s estimated that for every legitimate telecommuting position, there are up to 70 work-from-home job scams. Phoenix job seekers, check out the newest job scams below! News Story Outlines Job Scams for Phoenix Job Seekers A recent newscast from channel CBS 5 in Phoenix, AZ, called CBS 5 Investigates Job Scams, highlighted the new job scams affecting residents in the area. A woman who was looking to work from home and find something that paid more than what she had been currently making found herself the victim of crime involving job scams. She was contacted by another woman via text message and asked to do an interview via instant message. She was asked legitimate job interview questions by her potential boss, and by the end of the day, the woman had landed the job of an executive assistant working from home. The Costs of Job Scams While she thought it was strange that her employer reached out to her via text- and then did the interview via instant message- she was happy to have a new position. Her employer sent her six checks via FedEx and asked her to deposit them into her account. She was then to take out cash and make payments into other accounts. She thought she was paying for company services, but she wound up paying a bigger price: all but one of the six checks cleared, and the woman found herself owing the bank a staggering $21,000. Sadly, this is an all too common reality for many job seekers looking for part-time or flexible jobs who fall prey to job listings that boast the words “work from home” or “work at home.” Sara Sutton, the CEO and founder of , was interviewed for this newscast. She said, “Scammers use those words because theyre more commonly searched by job seekers.” And in Arizona, one of the top 10 states with telecommuting jobs, where 5.5 percent of the population works from home (which is higher than the national average), being targeted for a job scam is a common occurrence. How can you avoid getting scammed? Here are some tips: Don’t do a job interview via instant message. Sure, in today’s society, everyone is texting and IM-ing. That doesn’t mean that a potential boss should, though. A real hiring manager will reach out to you via email or phone, and follow up with either an in-person or phone interview, but will not communicate with you via text message. If you are contacted that way, chances are very high that it’s a scam. Avoid jobs that want you to pay to get hired. Employers should be paying you, not the other way around. You should not have to pay for things such as training, computer equipment, or programs needed for you to do your job. If a legitimate company hires you, they will provide all of this for you- free of charge. Don’t give out your personal banking info. One of the biggest job scams is for potential “employees” to deposit checks into their bank accounts and then withdraw amounts to pay to others. Job seekers need to realize that a company should be making their own payments directly and not need you to facilitate the payments. There is never a real reason why a potential employer would need access to your bank account, so if it is asked of you, it is 100 percent a job scam! Search for Legitimate Work-from-Home Jobs in Phoenix CBS also aired a report earlier this year to help people learn how to find a work-from-home job in Phoenix, so be sure to check out the tips from that report to further your job search. In the throes of a lengthy job search, it’s easy to overlook some warning signs that a job might be a scam in the hopes of getting hired for a job. And while you shouldn’t be discouraged from finding a telecommuting job because of the job scams, just be careful as you continue your job search to avoid falling into a scam. Phoenix job seekers, have you ever been in the middle of the job interviewing process and felt that it was a scam? Let us know what happened in the comments below!