SCAM Sharks Loom Large in Unemployment Waters

Craigslist has long been a playground for the scammers who post everything from

"Help, I need money to feed my children"

"Giving Away Free Stuff - Just send Your Bank Account Info..."

Seriously, these are just a few of the things that I have read on Craigslist.

When I became unemployed several months ago, I began to regularly scan the job postings on Craiglist. Thankfully, I carefully screened several of the more interesting positions. One day I happened across one that read like a dream,

"Are you tired of the same old job? Are you a marketer with good writing skills who loves to work with people? Do you have what it takes to make money, lots of money? Send your Resume for immediate consideration."

I nibbled and sent them an inquiry email less the resume. I wrote this,

"Hi, I am a marketer who loves people. Yes, I am a writer also. Who wouldn't want to earn more money? Send more details or you will never see my resume."

I waited three days and got a response.

"Yes, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. We need three people to start working immediately. Send Resume. Sincere Regards, Mr. Liebram."

This ping pong email game was getting old, I became more direct.

"Dear Mr. Liebram, I have enjoyed many opportunities in my lifetime and would like to enjoy many more before I leave this earth. Identity theft is not one of them. If you cannot supply a company name, company website or further details regarding this "lifetime opportunity" then I have no choice but to discontinue our email conversation. The ball is back in your court and I can only hope that the game is not charades. Good day."

I never heard from Mr. Liebram again. Although I suspect that several others continued to play the game. Today, there is a posting on the Help Wanted pages of Craigslist. It reads in part,

"SCAM ALERT - affiliate scammers are posting bogus ads promising (non-existent!) employment, paid research trials, or other compensation, but then notifying repliers that they'll need to jump through a hoop first, ..."

Perhaps the next generation of Help Wanted Ads will read:

"Wanted Immediately, people willing to write SCAM job postings for the desperately out-of-work population who will respond in droves. Apply immediately, send your bank info..."

Job Seekers Beware! It just got a little bit harder to seek and find employment with the sharks looming large in the employment waters.