Jobs and training courses fraud

Some people have been taking advantage of the recession and they were making money on others who were desperate and in need of a job.

A scam that become very popular during hard times, mainly recession involves taking advantage of the desperate ones in need of a job by offering them fake jobs and training. By the time that the victim figures out that the training course that promised a job on its conclusion is as fake as the job it promised, the fraudsters are already long gone with the real money the victim has paid for the above mentioned training. And as they dig deeper, they easily find out that the company was also fake. One of the easiest ways to figure out if the company offering training is a real deal is to pay attention to details. Say, the number they have listed as their contact. If the number is a mobile phone number, then you have to be careful. Many fraudsters use mobile numbers or PO Box numbers because they are easy to close and difficult to trace – either could be a sign that the company doesn't exist or is not legitimate. If you don’t want to get scammed, you should always check out the company's details with Companies House or look on the internet for more details about them. This scam is not a joke, and the fraudsters mean business. The fact that they have managed to trick about 22,000 job seekers in the past year should be warning enough for you to be extra careful next time you are considering similar offers. One scam that has emerged since the credit crunch involves asking people to pay for a phantom training course with the false promise of a job at the end of it. Others have been hired to work on a commission-only basis, only to find that the firm is fake and they make no money.

Scam artists never rest

Another scam that has been very popular lately is a “money transfer scam”. Criminals offer work as '”money transfer agents'” or similar, which involves receiving money into your bank account then transferring it to another account, keeping some back as payment. This is money laundering and can lead to a long prison sentence. Research from February 2013 shows that these offers are received by around 15% of adults in the UK – with fraudsters specifically targeting people on low incomes, such as students, those on benefits and new entrants to the UK. You would think it ends there, but you are wrong. Favorite victims for the fraudsters are desperate people, and who is more desperate then a person in debt. When they set their mark, fraudsters are offering loans to clear what the victim owes. The loan has a hefty upfront fee, but the money never materializes. Scam artists exploit difficult economic times. There are many of those who've been dealt a double blow by losing their job and then losing money while trying to find a new one, don’t allow yourself to become one of these people.

A job interview that can cost you

As if the above mentioned frauds are not terrible enough, scam artists have figured out one more.” Phony interview fraud” is also targeted at the unemployed. Jobseekers have been tricked into calling costly premium rate numbers to apply for non-existent jobs. "Interviews" are done over premium rate phone numbers, costing as much as 50 pennies per minute. One victim was charged £40 responding to a bogus advert for bar staff in Brighton, after a lengthy bogus interview. Some have lost more than £80 enquiring after jobs. Good news in the sea of the bad ones is that one of these scammers in Great Britain has been caught and he had to pay a fine of £75,000, and he also had to repay all the callers' costs.