Simply the Safest Way to Apply for a Job Online
Searching for a job can be time consuming and sometimes painful—especially during these economic times. And with the raise of online job scams, it may become even more frustrating. Unfortunately, job scams aren’t a new problem; fake listings have existed since the early days of classified ads (i.e. newspapers, etc.). However, Simply Hired understands that this is a real issue and as such we have implemented—and will continue to implement—tools and procedures to help insulate our users and partners from this problem.
We recommend that job seekers be diligent in vetting potential employment opportunities. At the same time, we also encourage employers and other job resources to be vigilant in protecting the integrity of their job listings and corporate brand. Therefore, SimplyHired.com wants to offer you some helpful tips to avoid being a victim of an online job scam.
Possible Indicators of a Job Scam:
- Listings that ask for your private information such as SSN, driver’s license number, bank accounts, credit card information, etc.
- “Small Businesses” that direct you to a home address for an interview
- Foreign companies that do not have a local office
- Listings for jobs such as stuffing envelopes, email rebates or refunds, data entry, and jewelry-making at home that require payment to start, and require unpaid and tedious work upfront
- Listings requiring you to buy products and submit receipts before you get paid; this specifically addresses mystery shopping listings
- Listings that request you to go to a pay-to-attend seminar
- Employers that request you open a new bank account or credit card
- Online applications that do not have the company headline in the URL, or are not password protected
- The same business’ phone numbers and fax numbers with mismatched area codes
- Email addresses that do not include the company name
- Before you interview, check with the Better Business Bureau www.bbbonline.com to make sure the company is in good standing.
A Helpful Reminder on Privacy
In order to avoid becoming a target of identity theft from scam jobs online, it is important to keep sensitive information on your resume private. When you post a resume online, make sure to leave off information that can be used to steal your identity; this includes date of birth, tax information, age, driver’s license number and/or social security number. Also make sure you read the privacy statement on the website you post your resume so you understand how your information will be used. Just remember, only post private information you are comfortable with having everyone see on the Internet. Once information is published on the Web, it becomes a public domain for everyone and anyone to access. For more information on identity theft, visit: http://www.idtheftcenter.org/.
Helpful Websites to avoid Job Scams:
Privacy Rights: http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs25a-JobSeekerPriv2.htm
Virtual Assistants: http://www.virtualassistants.com/scams.html
Identity Theft Center: http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
The Better Business Bureau: www.bbbonline.com
Finally, if you find any scam jobs—or even suspect jobs—on the SimplyHired.com network, please make use of our new flagging tool, which allows users to flag any jobs and reports back to Simply Hired. Throughout the search results pages, users will see a new icon under each job listing labeled “Flag.” Users flag the job by clicking the icon below the job listing and choosing the reason they are flagging the job. A job posting can be flagged for a number of reasons: it looks like a scam/spam posting, the job is expired, the posting contains a broken link, or it is a duplicate listing. The job listing will not be immediately removed from the results, but will be marked as flagged and reported.
The flagging feature allows our team to investigate all flagged jobs and remove listings from our database that are faulty or fraudulent in nature. This is an active way for job seekers to improve the quality of their search results for both themselves and others. It also allows SimplyHired.com to be diligent about keeping bad listings off our website.
Here’s how the “Flag this job” feature works:
1. Job Seeker runs a search.
2. Clicking “flag” will let users describe the issue that they’re seeing.
3. Simply Hired collapses the job for job seekers.
4. Simply Hired uses the feedback to identify problematic sources.
Remember: If a job listing sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
