OKLAHOMA CITY - Emily Jones was working as a custodian, but she quit her job.
“Yeah, I did," Emily said. “It was just not very smart, [and] I was just so ready to get out of there.”
She was ready for better hours and more money.
The recent college graduate and job-seeker was targeted online with a bogus employment offer after posting her resume on popular online job sites.
Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma's President and CEO Kitt Letcher said scammers will troll job boards on the prowl for resumes and their next victim.
“They're after your information, but they're also after your money,” Letcher said.
After snatching up Emily's contact information from indeed.com, Emily was lured into a private chat through Google Hangouts, an online messaging system that lets you text and have video and voice chats.
“If you go to a job interview and you're doing it through Google Hangout or another online service and you don't go through an interview process and all of the sudden you're hired for this job, that should be a huge red flag,” Letcher said.
Be extra suspicious if they send you a check and come up with a story about how they overpaid you and you need to return most of the money.
“So, then, they call you and email you and say 'We've over paid you,'” Letcher said. “'I'm so sorry. Can you wire that money back to us?’”
The In Your Corner bottom line:
- Be careful what you're posting online.
- Use job sites that have privacy policies.
- If you're going to post your resume publicly, create a separate email address strictly for your online job searching.
It’s back to the drawing board for Emily.
Luckily, she didn't fill out any bogus paperwork with her personal information.
- Remember, scammers will steal legit company names and logos.
- Cross check information.
- Go to that company's website and search for the job listing there, and call them up to inquire about the job you're supposedly up for.