CONSUMER FIRST ALERT: Job scams increasing

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Working remotely has opened the door for scammers. Wisconsin consumer experts say job scams are hitting more people who are in their prime years of earning.

Some job scams are simple. Others are very sophisticated. From applying, interviewing, and “giving” you the job, the scammers can make it seem real.

They often have one thing in common: You’re offered a lot of money for little work.

“There’s sometimes no interview involved. If there is an interview, it can be a virtual interview, and sometimes they’ll hire you on the spot for a job that is little work for an inflated salary. They want your personal information. They want your banking information. Sometimes you even end up working for a company that does not exist,” Tiffany Schultz said. Schultz is the Southeast Wisconsin regional director for the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau.

Several people at Action 2 News received a text message with a job offer.

The first tip-off that it was a scam was the sender: In this case, it was a random email address, not a company address.

The text says they need 50 people over the age of 22 to work on restaurant data enhancement. It involves a free, 30-minute training, then we would be paid $300 to $1,000 per day. It says we’d easily make over $10,000 a month.

It asked us to contact them through WhatsApp — another red flag.

Never reply to these text messages. Block the sender then erase the message.

This scam might be easier to spot, but the BBB says to be alert.

• BBB: Spot the red flags of fake text messages

Scammers are also taking outdated ads from real employers and posting them on employment websites.

“If you find a position online, and it’s not on the company website, it’s a good idea to place a phone call to the human resources department to make sure that position is still open and that you can still apply for it,” Schultz recommended.

The Better Business Bureau says people ages 18 to 44 are most at-risk for being targeted for a job scam. Those are prime earning years.

• BBB: The riskiest scams of 2023

Victims of job scams lost a median of just under $2,000 each.

The BBB reminds you, never pay to get a job.

If an “employer” says they’ll send you checks to buy equipment and ask you to return what money’s left over, that’s a scam.

And tell your friends and family members about these scams so that they’re savvy, too.

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