SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the search for employment begins for many people impacted by the coronavirus, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is issuing a warning about the websites used to apply for jobs.
“The number one scam that we’ve seen across the U.S. in 2019 was an employment scam,” said BBB spokesperson Alma Galvan.
And now, with many out of work because of coronavirus closures, the BBB says the problem may only get worse.
Many companies like grocery stores and online retailers have announced that they are hiring people en masse as customers clean out store shelves and online orders increase.
It is news that caught the attention of people in need of work and as well as scammers looking to take advantage.
“With job opportunities like Safeway and Target are offering, you're going to see replicas of those job applications,” Galvan said.
The BBB says scammers can create websites that look exactly like the ones that belong to legitimate companies hiring workers. They can also use the names of companies like Amazon to post fake jobs on third party sites.
“What they're going after is your personal information,” Galvan said, “When we are applying for jobs, we're providing our social security number, or date of birth our address our history which is what scammers thrive on.”
The BBB says if you see a job posting on a third-party website, check the website of the company hiring to see if that position is there. While on that website, be sure to double-check its domain name to be sure it’s legit.
For more tips on how to avoid being scammed, click here.
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