Unfortunately, the economy and job situations are suffering. When times are hard, unemployment is high and people are desperate, this is the perfect opportunity for others to take advantage of you. Some scams include stealing form your account to having you work for one day and then firing you. An example is a company looking for a ‘marketing rep’ calls you once you apply for the position. They tell you they want you to come in immediately. They make it a big deal and say that there are many candidates and they want to make a decision fast. Once they get you into the office, they complete the interview and tell you that you are great and to come back for a second interview. This second interview requires you to ride along with a salesman ‘to get a better idea’, four hours later you are helping him go , door to door. Once you realize this is not what you want to do it’s too late. You just worked for free.

So before you apply for a job, attend an interview or accept a job review these tips to prevent being a victim of a job scam.

A job scam can be found anywhere; however scammers find it easiest to find their victims online. Online job boards don’t have many filters and that means scammers can get away with more. Large job sites like Monster.com and Indeed.comtry their best to monitor but are not always able to keep up with new scams.

This is why it is important when you search online to keep in mind:

Too good to be true: If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Scammers try to entice you with phrases like ‘high salary and no experience needed’ or ‘no degree and earn big money’. It is best to avoid job postings that boast of unrealistic job opportunities. There is one field today where almost no experience is needed and that is because the field is so new and that is Social Media Marketing Consultants .

Money: Any job that requires you to submit bank account information or to pay them any money is a scam. Look at for these guys on Craigslist and other sites. Do not ever give out your personal banking information or social security number until you know for sure they are a legit company. The only time you give a company your bank account number is when you have been hired, signed an offer and they want to pay you.

Terms: A lot of companies will use ‘marketing’ and ‘sales’ to attract their victims. When you think the job may be for a sales job with a company could mean a door to door sales job selling phone products.

Research: Always do your homework on a company. Google the company name to see what kind of results you get. Investigate the website and check the location listed. Take it step further and type the companies name or the name of the person that contacted you into Google with the word scam. That will pull up any complaints against the company.

Meeting location and time: If a company wants to meet with you after hours or in an unfamiliar place, beware. Especially good advice for women. Some scams consist of families looking for a nanny. There have been many unfortunate events where a woman has gone to meet the family and it turns out to be someone that wants to hurt them. Be aware and always check your meeting location and make sure your friends and family know where you are at all times.

So before you log on or pick up the paper keep in mind that not everyone is out to give you a job. Be careful in your communications and do your research on the company and position being offered. Good luck and be careful!

For More Information See:

10 Awesome Jobs You Can Do From Home

About the Author:

This Guest post is by Christine Kane from internet service providers, she is a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide-variety of subjects for different blogs. She can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00 @ gmail.com.