Have you ever received a job offer that seemed too good to be true, or received information for unemployment relief that seemed a little too accommodating? There are new kinds of identity theft and mail fraud happening in America every day. While our mailboxes can protect your sensitive deliveries, we can’t protect you from every scam out there. Fortunately, there are plenty of organizations out there that can provide you with the resources you need.
Report unemployment fraud.
With countless people in the U.S. currently without work, unemployment agencies across the country have been flooded with calls, leaving some relief seekers to spend enormous amounts of time waiting on hold to speak to a representative. For many, once they get through to a representative, they discover that someone's already used their identity to commit fraud and access their unemployment benefits.
If this has happened to you, your first step should be to secure your identity. The US Department of Labor has a convenient website that allows you to quickly identify services in your area.
Unemployment identity protection for Washington State: Sign up for Washington State Secure Access (SAW)
After signing up for State Secure Access go to your local employment security department website to register your identity, for Washington State, you can find that here: Register your identity with the Employment Security Department
If your SSN has been used by someone else, the ESD website will display a message that will prevent you from being able to complete the registration. To report a fraudulent claim, contact them here Report Imposter Fraud
You may also want to report your identity theft with the Federal trade Commission: Report Identity theft with the FTC
Employment Scams
Millions of people across the country are looking for jobs right now on sites like Indeed.com, making these platforms a prime breeding ground for people out to make a quick buck. Job seekers trust websites like this because of ads and brand recognition, but they’re just as susceptible to scammers and fraudulent posters as anyone. Even the most careful can fall into the web of a scammer without even fully realizing it.
Reeling you in
Often, an employment scam will offer you a position that seems too good to be true. In many cases, this comes in the form of a well-known company related to your field. It’s good to remember that when you share your employment history on one of these public websites that all of the personal and contact information that you share is publicly viewable for any unscrupulous scammer to invent a custom trap specifically engineered to your interests and field. The same technology that allows job sites to categorize and match employers to job seekers inadvertently shares that with scammers who can easily match victims to custom-built lures.
At first, a scam may seem too complex and specific to be a hustle. However, don’t forget how many millions of people there are in this country that are in the same field of work and focus that you are. A job opportunity that may seem like the “perfect position” to you may also be the perfect trap for anyone in your field, and they can just keep moving down the list, using the same tricks over and over again until they find the one person that it works on.
Additionally, scammers often have access to and utilize the same information that you may try to use to attempt to use to verify the legitimacy of a poster. They may scour places like LinkedIn to steal information of real people inside of an otherwise legitimate organization, that they will use in their scheme. You should always research a company and job poster through as many different venues as possible.
When researching a suspicious employer, always start from your own preferred search engine. Do not trust any links or website addresses that have been included in your initial contact email, phone call or correspondence. When you’ve located the legitimate website, you can usually check their about page to determine if they’re actually hiring, and what the names of the real hiring executives are. If things still seem fishy, you can try reaching out to them directly to see if they’ve actually posted a job opportunity. If the website you land on already has some warning signs, you may also want to verify the authenticity of the website through the ICANN Domain name registration Database. If you discover the website is fairly new, or doesn’t contain any direct contact information like addresses and phone numbers, there’s a pretty high likelihood that you’re dealing with a scammer. It’s also not a bad idea to search the companies name and double check their business rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Warning Signs
Re-directed communication
If a poster contacts you in any way outside of one of your approved application platforms, or emails or calls you completely unsolicited, that’s a good indication that they’re trying to cover their tracks. You should be skeptical of any communications that don’t come directly from a verifiable email that can be linked to a specific company or employers. Legitimate corporate email addresses are typically linked directly to a company’s website for example: info@mailboss.com has our website address directly in the address. So, if you receive correspondence from free email providers like @yahoo.com or @gmail.com or @hotmail.com, be cautious.
-Poor spelling or grammar.
A big indicator that an offer isn’t necessarily legit can be easily identified by spelling or grammar mistakes. I
-Compensation seems unreasonably high.
Remember: If a job seems too good to be true, it often is. Especially if the position requires little to no effort, experience or skill. This often comes in the form of “work from home”, or “secret shopper” schemes offering “thousands a week” for simple tasks. If at any time an “employer” requires you to “buy supplies”, or “materials” or “sign up” for their education/training course, it's probably a scam. Never give your personal bank account or credit card information to anyone promising you huge returns on a “small initial investment.”
Another variation on this fraud technique is the fake check scam, in which a someone will “pre-pay” you with a check they will send in the mail and require you to deposit immediately. They then request that you “rent equipment” or “Buy merchandise” on their behalf “utilizing the deposited funds” using your personal banking information. Federal law requires that banks make deposited funds available to your bank account immediately, but identifying fraudulent checks may take weeks. By the time anyone realizes that the funds are unavailable, you’re already on the hook for whatever expenses they’ve already stolen. If anyone attempts this type of scam on you, they are committing mail fraud and can be reported to The United States Postal Inspection Service.
High Pressure / “Fast Action Required”
Many scammers rely on the slow turnaround times that banks and law enforcement take to identify fraud. If anyone is pressuring you to “ACT NOW” or lose your opportunity, there’s a good chance they’re trying to pull one over on you before the law catches up with them. Never send your personal information via phone, mail or e-mail to any business that you haven’t had direct personal contact with, and any legal contracts or employment documents should be dealt with in person at a verified location.
–Lack of direct communication or in person interview
Job offers that come from out of town or from a long distance away are often questionable as well. If it’s nearly impossible to visit a business location and/or a potential employer avoids direct phone conversations or offers to begin your “employment” or send you a “first paycheck” before any direct communication or standard employment contracts have been signed that’s a good indication that you may be dealing with a scammer.
Reporting Resources:
The following list consists of different consumer and government agencies that you can use to report employment and unemployment fraud. It may seem daunting, but the more agencies you report to the higher the likelihood that one of them will be successful in stopping the scam.
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission
File a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Division
Report job scams, pyramid schemes, franchises and distributorships, business opportunities, foreign money offers, investments and other money-related scams.
Find your state’s local Consumer Protection Office
Report a scam with the Better Business Bureau
Scam Tracker
Still Have Questions?
Don’t hesitate to contact us with additional inquiries!