Online Job Scams: An Update

Almost two years ago, I published an article, "Craigslist Job Sams" (here) that has consistently been my best performing article. But, it is time to update and expand that information.

The best news is that Craigslist (here) has cleaned up its act, and it carries far fewer job scam ads than it used to. The bad news is that there are still many, many Internet sites that continue to carry ads for jobs that are in fact scams, so much so that whenever I am interested in a job ad, I assume it is a scam, and then prove that it is not.

Look at these three ads, and see if, looking at them together, you can smell the scams. I started with actual online ads but altered a few words in each ad. Also, all websites and email addresses, as far as I know are phony; I made them up.

Online job scam ad # 1

Assistant Teachers needed to rotate between 3-4 full time teachers. They will participate fully in the classroom activities, often preparing and teaching lessons, working with students one-on-one and in groups, and communicating with the parents and other teachers on the team. Experience is not necessary; however, we are seeking someone who has a wish for a career in education. Apply by sending resume or email to ScamMistress365@gmail.com. $15-$18 Hourly

Online job scam ad # 2

Highly regarded private school is currently seeking a motivated teacher assistant; K1-K12. Our assistant teachers participate fully in the classroom activities often preparing and teaching lessons, working with students individually and in groups, communicating with the parents as well as the teachers on the team, and participating in continued education. Interested candidates reply to Don Ripoff at DonRipoff47@gmail.com. Compensation: $32,000

Online job scam ad # 3

We are looking for talented, professionals committed to working with students in grades PreK -12. We recruit substitute teachers on an ongoing basis, to fill vacancies throughout the school year. Substitute teachers are needed for emergency assignments as well as assignments of greater duration.Substitutes are needed for a variety of duties which can include but are not limited to; filling in for absent teacher, covering study hall and monitoring student activities. There is no limit to days substitute teachers can work. Must have a high school diploma or GED and at least one year experience working with children. If interested in this position contact Wayne Worthless at wayneworthless0@gmail.com. Compensation: Competitive Pay

Job scam clue: "assistant"

Notice that there are no ads for teachers, because teachers have specific requirements - most likely, a degree (minimum of a bachelor's degree) and state certification (even most private schools will require this). Why would that be a problem? The point of a scam is to get as many responses as possible.

So, when I see an ad for a violin teacher or an Arabic tutor, for instance, I doubt that those are scams, because there are not that many qualified violin teachers or Arabic tutors available.

There used to be a popular Craigslist ad that listed about 20-30 topics that an elementary school (!) student needed tutoring in, ranging from a half dozen languages through various mathematical subjects, sciences, and inevitably, dancing and Bible study. There were so many that almost anyone would be qualified to tutor at least one.

Notice that these ads are for "assistant teachers," "teacher assistants," or "substitute teachers." As far as "assistant teachers" or "teacher assistants" go, I'd guess that most schools would use the term "paraprofessionals," but that might be a bit scary to applicants, so "assistant" is more tempting.

Job scam clue: "no experience"

Look at the body of the first two ads, at the similarity (outright duplication) of the wording. "Experience is not necessary" is a tipoff in the first ad.

Job scam clue: strange job description

Do you see a problem in the second ad? They are seeking "a motivated teacher assistant; K1-K12." Only one, but that one is to be available for... what? I think they mean K-12 (kindergarten - 12th), but since they refer to "our assistant teachers," it would seem that the slots would be more grade-specific.

As for the ad for substitutes (with qualifications, but how many people looking for a job in education won't have either a high school diploma or a GED?), I have never seen a school advertise for substitutes.

To be sure, look for an unlikely expression, even a sentence, in an ad, and then Google it. For instance, in the second ad, I chose "Highly regarded private school is currently seeking a motivated teacher assistant; K1-K12." I copied it and pasted it into the Google search box (in quotation marks). My search returned a page headed, "Results 1 - 10 of about 153 for 'Highly regarded private school is currently seeking a motivated teacher assistant; K1-K12.'" (This is not the exact wording of the original ad.) Some of the links were to pages reporting scams, and, if you find the same ad repeated in so many places, well... you can be fairly sure that it is a scam.

Job scam clue: compensation

Look at the compensation: $15-$18/hour or $32,000... These seem to be recurring figures in many job scam ads. There are teachers who make less than that, and I do not believe that any education paraprofessional makes that much. (If it sounds too good to be true...)

Job scam clue: email addresses

Look at the email addresses. Notice that they are all Gmail addresses (as, by the way, are all three of my email addresses). Overwhelmingly, Gmail is the email service of choice, although there are other free email services.

Schools and school systems will most likely have their own websites. So the highly regarded Private School would have www.Highly regardedprivateschool.edu, and the address might be hiring@Highly regardedprivateschool.edu. You can also Google the email address. For one such search, I got 45 links for the address, some of them pages reporting scams, others advertising the exact same job in states from sea to shining sea.

Job scam clue: springtime for tutors

In the spring, you'll start to see ads for tutors, often offering $50/hour, from someone in a foreign country who will be in the United States for a couple months, spending four weeks in your town. You respond and are immediately hired. Hooray!

They ask for your address, so they can send you your payment (say, 20 hours = $1,000). Oh, and would you do them a favor? They have engaged a nanny in the other city where they will be staying who will be coming to your town with them, so they are sending you a check for $2,000 - your money and hers for the four weeks.

It will simplify matters so much, so please, deposit the check, send the nanny her $1,000, and we'll see you in July. You get the check from another country, deposit it, send the nanny her money (your check). By the time the foreign check gets back to you, and you find that it was worthless, the nanny has cashed your check, and you never see or hear from any of them. You are out a thousand dollars, and you don't have the tutoring position.

What do the scammers want?

That last clue showed one goal of scammers, to get your money. But, for the previous scam ads, the scammers wanted your personal information, so that they can approach you with offers for all manner of things. There are some people who respond to ads for jobs in education with an offer of online courses (for which, of course, you have to pay) so that you can be qualified for such a position.

Then, there is something downright sinister that scammers want to do. When I first started looking online for a job, I responded to an ad for an office assistant, with pay of $32,000/year (two red flags: the word assistant and the salary of $32,000/year).

I got an email back telling me to click on a link in the email to download and install a program so that I could complete their application.

Hmmm... and why could they not simply send me the application in a Word document or have a webpage with blanks to fill in?

The link, by the way, would take me to a website originating in a central European country... for a job in a small city in Florida? I didn't go any further, but I am confident that the program would have opened up my computer for them to get any information that I might have on it.

A repeated conclusion

As I ended my first article about online job scams, "The only surefire way to avoid being scammed with an ad is not to respond to any ads. Just use your best judgment. Be aware, be cautious..." And, once again, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.