Freelancing is a fast growing industry today. Millions are working home based today because of the better benefits it entails. Howbeit, this movement has also attracted online jobs scammers. They are out to deceive especially the newbies. It can be sometimes difficult to distinguish the real clients from the fake ones.
Here are 7 ways how to spot online job scammers:
FAST HIRE Applying an Online Job - These are the “clients” who hire fast. They appear very interested in hiring you without asking for references nor going through the right hiring process. They usually send an email claiming that they have found your application or resume from a legit online job website. You might not remember this application but it would seem to be true. They either offer you the job immediately or want to interview you fast.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - You are promised with high pay for little work. One of the baits for online jobs seekers is the pay that they will be getting for a job. Scammers would post a very interesting job with a promising high pay with less work. Examples are sending emails for $400 pay weekly. In the real freelancing setting, you will be paid according to your skills, expertise and number of hours. Oftentimes, even less that what’s expected. Thus, if someone comes with very easy work and big pay, think twice.
VAGUE PROFILES AND ONLINE JOB DESCRIPTIONS - Scammers would try to pose as a real client and provide lists of requirements where everyone can qualify. The requirements don’t mention educational background nor experience or field expertise. But if you would look closer, client’s profile is not complete and the online job description often focuses in getting your info than sharing about the role and responsibilities on the online job post.
PAID Online Job - Legit companies don’t ask money for anything. Scammers baits you for hiring but there needs to be a purchase for software costs or pay for services first. They sometimes even send a “check” for your office supplies or send items you need to pay for shipping with a promise for refunds later. “Promises are meant to be broken,” hold true in this scenario.
LOOK AT THE SIGN - One of the signs that a job offer is a scam is its grammatical or spelling errors. It includes capitalization errors, punctuation errors, grammatical errors and spelling errors. Others would also use legit company information when you research for the website, their name in the team members, it’s non-existent.
EMAIL SIGNATURE - Real companies always use professional and corporate information in their email signature. Scammers’ e-mails do not have company’s address and contact information. They would use excuses such as their corporate email server is down or the system is still updating, etc.
IDENTITY THEFT - Be careful if clients would ask your your IDs, bank info and password. It’s ok to provide IDs but always cover important information and never give away passwords.