| |
Trustlinkers are saying:
""
- ,
Become a Fan of our Facebook page to stay updated with the latest scams, reviews
and features of our website.
|
|
|
MORE on Work At Home schemes, TrustLink warns jobseekers: Never Pay To Get Paid!
|
|
4/6/2010
|
Out of work? Looking for employment? You may want to think twice before responding to ads in your local newspaper, on job boards, or on the internet offering very attractive and high-paying jobs with little or no experience required.
"Help Wanted! Government Office Positions high pay plus benefits no/little experience required!"
"Administrative Job-Medical top pay benefits no experience necessary"
Seeing this employment ad may seem like a dream come true, but answering the company’s job offer could lead to a nightmare. Applicants are often left with lighter wallets and no job. One such employment scam is Civil Career Corps of Santa Fe Springs, California
who posts misleading and deceptive employment ads in local newspapers and on online job search sites:
"U.S. Government $21-$75hr. Full Benefits Openings Available Local & Nat'l Opportunities (562) 944-2001 or (626) 451-6595 Call Mon- Fri 9-3 to learn how you can apply today."
Job Training Schemes
Responding to this company’s ads will get you an interview but not the one you are expecting. To apply, you are told to bring your driver’s license, resume, and $10 in cash for a basic standard test to see which jobs you qualify for. But what does this fee
really buy you – employment? A Los Angeles County job seeker followed the company’s directions. After passing the test, she met with a representative who guaranteed she would get the job of her choosing if she paid $400 to $600 for civil service exam study
materials. Not only did the company promise employment, they were quick to point out the fees would be reimbursed as they are not a staffing agency but a branch of the federal government.
Another job seeker reported that the company claimed the $394 would be reimbursed by the government. She received nothing – no reimbursement, no job. The complainant summed up the experience up best saying, “the company is providing false hope and they are
taking advantage of those in desperate need of a job in this harsh economy.” And what happened to the refundable fees? Most of the job seekers who complained to us failed to receive any response from the company and despite any promises to the contrary failed
to receive refunds.
Employment Registration Schemes
Jobseekers are similarly being victimized when responding to the false job advertisings of Standard Data Group of Studio City, CA. The company deceptively advertises “government office jobs” on various job boards:
"WORK FROM HOME: Government Office Jobs, Basic Computer Skills. Full Benefits, Flexible Hours. Call 1-888-611-9333."
To qualify for employment, job seekers are told they have to pay the company’s registration fee of $69.95, which is completely refundable. Rather than employment and a paycheck, all complainants’ state that they received either nothing or just an instruction
book and computer disk on how to obtain a government job along with a list of websites offering jobs. New hires are routinely told that the registration fee is refundable, however we have yet to see an applicant who received a refund. One Virginia Beach, VA
woman did reach a representative but was told they stopped giving refunds after which the rep immediately disconnected the call and would not answer the telephone again.
Work-At-Home Offers
Be on the look-out for various job advertisements offering light assembly work, envelope stuffing, and rebate or data processing from home. This type of job may sound like the perfect opportunity to make some easy money without leaving home, but the only thing
leaving home will be your money. There is one commonality among them all: they charge a fee for starter kits, certificates, access to a database or online service, or other materials to get started. They routinely entice you to pay their fees by offering a
money-back guarantee.
Most of these offers fail to deliver anything at all. Those that do provide a few “crumbs” still fall far short of the promised employment or the money making opportunity touted in their advertising. Some of the things they fail to tell you, besides the fact
that they aren’t really employing anyone, is that you may have to work many hours without pay, or they don’t disclose all the costs you may incur -- for example, for placing newspaper ads, making photocopies, or buying envelopes, paper, stamps and other necessary
supplies. If you are assembling products you may find that there are stringent, nearly impossible, quality control requirements for the finished product that must be met. If you are asked to advertise a similar offer of employment you may be breaking the law
and subject to punishment.
Typical examples of advertisements for these kinds of offers are:
"Earn thousands of dollars a month from home processing rebates for National Companies. Call (123) 456-7890"
"EARN up to $700/wk. stuffing envelopes or for data processing. No exp. req. (123) 456-7890 anytime"
"HANDIWORK -- Crafts, Sewing, Electronics, Toys, Wood, etc. to $600.00/wk. (123) 456-7890"
Tips and Advice
TrustLink warns consumers you should never have to pay for employment. An employer will pay you and you should not have to pay for information about job or employment opportunities.
- Consider it a warning if you have to buy something to start the program.
- Beware of "no experience necessary" ads that promise attractive profits and part-time earnings, guaranteed markets and a demand for your handiwork.
- Don't be taken in by personal testimonials the promoter relies on to convince you that the program is legitimate.
- Realize that you may be perpetrating a fraud and risk investigation by postal authorities by selling the same program you bought to others.
- Remember information about job openings and applications for employment with the U.S. government is free. Anyone interested in government employment should contact the agencies directly to determine if the agency is hiring and where jobs are posted. You
may access Federal job information through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s USAJOBS at:
www.usajobs.gov
- Be suspicious of any employment-service firm that promises to get you a job.
- Be aware that some listing services and "consultants" may place ads that seem to offer jobs when, in fact, they're selling employment information.
- Employment information can be obtained by accessing the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration’s sponsored program CareerOneStop at
www.jobbankinfo.org or by calling 1-877-US2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627).
- For job assistance in California, information can be obtained on the State Personnel Board’s website
www.jobs.ca.gov or on the
Employment Development Department’s website.
Consider yourself forewarned.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|