BBB Report: Job Scams Skyrocketing

If that job offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. That’s the message this week from the Better Business Bureau which, according to its scam-tracker program, reports that the first three months of 2023 saw nearly $840,000 lost to job scams nationally—up 250% compared to the same time last year.

“As more people search for remote opportunities, scammers are looking to cash in,” BBB officials said in the report.

Signs of a job scam, according to the bureau, include such factors as a job requiring the prospective employee to pay money, remote jobs involving checks, cold calls about jobs, higher-than-average pay and the interview processes done strictly by email. Among the common jobs being scammed are for nannies, “mystery shoppers,” re-shipping, check cashing and car-wrap job offers.

In a recent update of a 2021 BBB study, “Employment Scams: Reports of job scams skyrocket in 2023,” examines patterns of reports, reviews dollars lost and interviews affected job seekers to protect the public through education.

Key findings include:

• Early figures for 2023 show job scam reports nearly tripled compared to the same period last year.

• $840 thousand in losses during the first three months of 2023, which is more than the first nine months of 2022.
• Median loss of over $1,500 during the first quarter of 2023. Some job seekers’ monetary losses totaled tens of thousands of dollars.
• Job fraud is the most common type of scam for those ages 18-34.
• Since 2020, over 700 Scam Tracker reports referenced Indeed, 288 LinkedIn and 250 Telegram as their first point of contact with fraudsters.
• “Reshipping scams” where fraudsters trick consumers into buying and shipping expensive electronics appear to be one of the most common job scam types.

Statistics include:

• 12,925 BBB Scam Tracker reports with $4.77 million in losses (2020-March 2023)

• 282,061 reports to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network with $845.1 million in losses (2020-March 2023)
• 11,435 reports to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre with 22.2 million Canadian dollars in losses (2020-March 2023)

“BBB has examined employment scams in-depth since 2021,” continued the report. “But scammers continue to change their tactics to trick job seekers. In some of the most extreme cases, some people found themselves out tens of thousands of dollars.”

The report included descriptions of scam scenarios from actual victims. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“Donald from Lake Placid, Florida told BBB in an interview that he lost over $100,000 as part of a reshipping scam. Like many others, he was convinced to purchase computers and ship them overseas with the promise of reimbursement. Once the items were sent, the fraudsters disappeared. He remains buried under the debt accrued from the scam.”

“In San Francisco, California, Michelle’s experience with scammers ended with threats to her family. After accepting what she thought was an administrative position, the fraudsters convinced her she needed to purchase a home office setup. When her “bosses” began asking for gift cards instead of cash for the office equipment, she became suspicious and questioned them. The scammers started calling at all hours of the night, threatening her family if she didn’t comply. In the end, they stole over $150,000, draining her life’s savings.”

See the full report at bbb.org.