Pay attention to job fraud: How you can protect yourself in Maryland

It is a boom time for employment fraudsters in the midst of strong cuts in the federal employee who have already affected Maryland.

According to the Better Business Bureau, which has recorded reports of almost 5 million US dollars on these frauds in the past five years, job frauds that often use fake job advertisements and other strategies to extract personal data and money from unsuspecting victims are one of the most common and financially harmful systems.

“Criminal syndicates look at the news as much as everyone else,” said Tracy Rezvani, the administrator of the Howard County Office of Consumer Protection.

While job fraud is several years, there was a significant increase, said Rezvani. “I am convinced that there are so many people on the job market,” she said.

Here are some tips to avoid jobs and what to do if you are anchored in you.

Research your research

If you are looking for jobs online, be skeptical about the lists you can find on social media and check the company's official website. It is common for fraudsters to imitate legitimate companies. So if a job advertisement does not remain on a corporate website, search for the business online and check whether the job is really listed as available on the career page, said Clay Campbell, director of marketing for the Better Business Burau from Greater Maryland.

The scams of workers have become common since Covid 19 pandemic, which offer jobs that sound with low loads and seem to pay well. If a job offer is vague or the payment for the workload appears too high, this is a red flag.

“It is never the case where it sounds really easy,” said Campbell.

It is also a frequent advice to look for typing errors and grammatical mistakes in the joblists, but Campbell said that artificial intelligence has made it increasingly easier without creating realistic -looking job advertisements.

If you are not sure, you can also check and call the company's contact information on a website like BBB to confirm whether the job or recruiter is legitimate.

Be careful with an unwanted range

Caution if you are addressed by an unknown recruiter of jobs, Rezvani said. Job offers about SMS and in particular texts that come from an E -Mail address are particularly suspicious.

Fraudsters can also use job websites like LinkedIn and actually find people who are looking for work and may be susceptible to a fraud offer.

With information about a specific job seeker, fraudsters from a broad “phishing” program can be addressed to anyone who aims at a link to a “Spear Phishing” attack on a specific person, said Rezvani.

A common thread among the victims of Job fraud is that her communication with the fraudster simply didn't feel quite right, she said.

“If you get an interview and it is brief, superficial, everything that looks like it was just” gone “, that's a common element,” said Rezvani.

Fraudsters will also use emotions to move them quickly, said Campbell. If someone urges them to act quickly with a job that they are not sure about it, this could be a warning sign.

“If you are new to the job scene or have been released and be careful to find a new career path or a new job, it is about trusting your instinct and not feeling rushed,” he said.

Be careful with your personal data

As with any other, employment fraudsters pursue after their money or their personal data, said Karen Straughn, a deputy attorney in General Maryland who works in the department for consumer protection.

For fraudsters, it is common to tell job seekers that they have to buy devices or hand over bank information. You can also send you money and ask you to send it back or to a third person.

“These are all warning signs,” said Straughn.

If you are in the middle of an interview and find that you are cheated, end the conversation and make a report to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC also offers a checklist for identity theft. If you have already passed on a suspected fraudster personal data, it is important to follow these steps, including changing passwords and checking your credit reports on non -authorized activities.

If you have lost money, you can make a report to the FBI.

You can also call the consumer hotline of the Maryland Attorney General at 410-528-8662, said Straughn to get help to determine whether a job advertisement is suspicious or legitimate. The hotline is available on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.