Scammers take advantage of increased online activity during the pandemic

By Web Staff

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    NASHVILLE (WSMV) — A recent Better Business Bureau report released on Wednesday revealed how online job scams are on the rise across the country.

During the pandemic, so many consumers spent time online, leaving the door open to scammers. According to the BBB report, 14 million Americans fell victim to job scams resulting in more than $2 billion in losses.

The BBB encourages consumers to cross-check the legitimacy of jobs online. The study shows that last year job scammers targeted consumers between the ages of 25-34, followed behind the age group of 35-44.

“We were home, we were relying on our smart devices to stay connected to shop and to research. And so scammers are really great opportunists and so when they know that your pattern of activity changes they take full advantage of that,” Robyn Householder, the President and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky said.

Scammers typically create believable job postings with promises of perks like working from home, and well-paying jobs. Job seekers willingly share personal information like social security numbers.

“The scammers are targeting folks that they find on job boards. They may be getting unsolicited emails, text, ads when they’re out searching and just by clicking on one of those whether it’s an email or an ad or a text you’re going to be drawn in to speaking to someone that’s not a legitimate organization,” Householder said.

One Middle Tennessee victim says they came across a work from home job posting. They shared all of their personal information and got the job. After that, the person posing as a legitimate employer provided the person with a check to purchase items, only later to find out the check was bad.

“The bigger concern is that when you’re responding to some of these scammers they’re asking for much more personal information, like your social security number, which is not uncommon to do when you’re applying for a job but that usually comes much later in the job employment process,” said Householder.

Experts say if it seems fishy, and too good to be true, follow your gut. “Instead of responding to something that you received unsolicited, go directly to the company’s website and see if that job actually exists and if it does apply there,” Householder said.

If you’ve experienced a job scam, experts say don’t feel embarrassed, however, report what happened to the BBB.

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