If you’re on the hunt for a new job, beware of scammers who the Better Business Bureau says are getting more sophisticated and putting new twists on traditional job scams.
For the last three months, Christina Davis of Alief has been scrolling third-party job-seeking sites, hoping to land a new gig.
“I was filling out a bunch of applications, especially with the like quick apply, like two taps and you’re applied,” Davis told only KPRC 2.
Two weeks ago, before she ever had a real interview, the single mother received an email offering her a supply chain operations manager position.
The email stated it was a part-time job with a nearly $50,000 annual salary, plus benefits and bonuses.
“I was going to receive packages, make sure that it contained what it’s supposed to contain, and it’s going to be shipped to another country,” Davis said. “I can do that, right?”
But last week, the company emailed again asking her to fill out a W4 and upload a scan of her driver’s license.
At the end of the email, they added, “Please hurry, we have a lot of work.”
She followed directions, just excited at the opportunity to get back to work.
But days passed and when she tried to log back into the website, she had been locked out with no way to get in and no one at the company was responding to her.
“A total letdown. Not only do I not have a job now, somebody has my Social Security number and my ID,” she said.
The company that offered the job is called Sentpler, and when looking at the site using Google Chrome, it is listed as ‘not secure’ with a warning to avoid sharing sensitive information.
The contact button takes the user to an employment application page. And a Google search of the company name doesn’t return any real results.
“Just because you’re on a legitimate job site doesn’t mean that there could not be scams on there,” said Leah Napoliello, VP of Investigations and Public Affairs for the Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston and South Texas.
According to the BBB, employment scams have become the second most risky scam type after online purchases.
“If you haven’t even really interviewed with them very much, they’re not going to be asking for that personal information upfront,” Napoliello said.
To avoid becoming a victim, the BBB recommends:
- Research the person who contacted you
- Do more research on the company
- Guard personal information
- Watch out for overpayment scams
“Any job that seems too good to be true should raise some red flags,” Napoliello said.
Davis said she plans to file a police report.
“Think first. Don’t think later. Learn from my mistakes,” she said.
And Davis said she hasn’t given up on the job hunt just yet. She has an interview set up with a legit company later this week.