Holiday hiring is underway with many retailers looking for seasonal and temporary employees. The National Retail Federation expects seasonal employment to amount between 585,000 and 650,000 jobs, up from last year’s 582,000 jobs. Retailers are competing for employees which is helpful for job seekers. However, the Better Business Bureau warns scammers may be posting fake job listings to cash in on the hiring craze.
BBB's Veronica Craker says they are seeing a spike in scam reports.
"Since January, North Americans have reported more than 3,465 employment scams to BBB Scam Tracker with over $3 million reported lost. Compare this to the estimated 1,751 employment scams with over $800,000 lost from January to October of last year," Craker said.
Craker says locally, Idahoans have already reported 20 employment scams with more than $700 lost this year. Many of these scams are related to work-from-home jobs.
BBB lists the following red flags to look out for:
Vague company descriptions: If you can’t identify the company’s contact information, owner, headquarters or even product from its online ad, it’s a good idea to check online at www.bbb.org/northwest-pacific to see if the employer has a good rating.
No interview: Be wary of jobs that hire on the spot or conduct interviews via online chat or instant messaging services.
Overpayment: If you do take a work-from-home job, be careful if your new boss sends you a check for more than you need and requests you to send some back or to use part of it to pay someone else. That’s a classic overpayment scam. The check will most likely bounce, and you will be stuck paying the bank.
For more resources, visit www.bbb.org.
