Watch out for these top scams

Add comment January 17th, 2008

As promised, here’s another famous scam on the Better Business Bureau’s top-10 list for the past year: fraudulent online employment offers and misleading “hiring for managers” positions.

Employment offers looking for “shipping” or “billing managers” or “payment processors” — or anything that has a financial-sounding name — often are fraudulent listings that are actually looking for victims to commit money laundering, says the BBB.

The offers might appear on a legitimate-looking Web site, claiming that a developing company in a foreign country is looking for U.S. emploees to accept, process and forward payments on behalf of that company’s clients.

Also, there are employment ads that lead victims to believe they are applying for an office manager position — but when they’re hired, the company tells them they must pay upfront fees or do commission-based door-to-door sales before they can be eligible for the manager position. You should seek a very clear understanding of what you’re applying for and what will be expected, says the BBB.

 And, always be wary of any employer that asks for an upfront fee for a background check.

 For more information on what employers can and can’t do, the BBB suggests consumers contact the Illinois Department of Labor at www.state.il.us/agency/idol.