Chicago Tribune (Sunday)

Kids targeted in online job scams

- Steve Rosen Kids & Money Questions, comments, column ideas? Send an email to sbrosen103­0@gmail. com.

Cyber criminals are striking again on job-posting sites, this time targeting kids and other job seekers who may not be familiar with standard hiring practices.

Scammers love Indeed, Linked In, Craigslist and similar platforms because of their popularity and the ease of posting phony employment listings. Once in the door, scammers ask for a potential victim’s Social Security number, driver’s license number, log-in informatio­n and other sensitive informatio­n. The scammers are preying on job seekers who may be caught off guard because they’re anxious to find work.

“Anyone unfamiliar with the hiring process will be more at risk of job scams,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “This includes recent immigrants, older adults who are new to the workforce and, of course, kids. “High school and college-aged kids applying for their first job don’t know how much of their personal informatio­n they need to share during the interview process versus the hiring process, which makes them an attractive target for bad actors.”

The cost to victims? More than $52 million in 2022, according to the latest data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

While job scams are nothing new, the number of complaints from victims has heated up over the past year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. The consumer watchdog organizati­on said in a February report that it helped 492 job-scam victims in 2023, up from 226 in 2022. In the first month this year, 95 complaints were filed, up sharply from December, the San Diego-based organizati­on said.

Work-from-home scams are particular­ly onerous. Scammers, for example, take outdated ads from real employers, then change and post them on employment websites.

To avoid job scams, the identityth­eft consumer watchdog recommends the following.

Once you find a job posting, be careful how much personal informatio­n you share. Do not turn over sensitive informatio­n, such as your driver’s license number, financial account informatio­n or your Social Security number.

“Interviews by phone, Skype or Zoom are standard,” the organizati­on said. “However, it is a big red flag when a potential employer asks you to download a separate thirdparty app to communicat­e or if they initiate the interview through text or email.”

Know the source of the job listing. Search for the name of the company or the person supposedly hiring you and add a word such as “scam,” “review” or “complaint.”

Beware of any upfront fees or costs, which are not generally required by legitimate businesses.

Don’t send money to your new boss. “If a potential employer sends you a check, asks you to deposit it and they buy something else with those funds, such as gift cards, it is an online job scam,” the consumer agency said.

Beware of unsolicite­d texts and emails with offers of employment. Offers for wages or salaries above industry standards “is one way scammers attempt to lure in victims,” the agency said.

If you have questions about job scams, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center at 888-400-5530 or go to www.idtheftcen­ter.org.

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