IRS warns: employment scams could cost you

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Job hunting can be stressful enough, and if the position you’re vying for turns out to be a scam, it could be more than an inconvenience; It could cost you.

“A scammers goal is to steal your information in order to make money,” Vee Daniel, President of Better Business Bureau in Greenville, said.

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a warning to Americans about fake job postings. The pandemic created many unemployed people looking for new career opportunities, making it easier for scammers.

Last year, more than 15,000 people fell victim to employment schemes, losing more than $47.2 million, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

From fake job postings to spoofed emails, the scammers entice their victims to share details about their personal finances.

“The next thing you know they’re asking them for personal identifiable information and they’re giving them their Social Security number and all kinds of information,” Daniel said.

A viewer shared an email they recently received from someone claiming to be a job recruiter.

“I think your experience would align well with our account strategist position. Would you be open to the opportunity if it’s the right fit,” the email read, “The salary is $125,000.”

“I attached the job description with more details, and if you would like to be considered, please fill out this candidate profile so I can share your info with our hiring team.”

Employment experts said its a common scheme and several red flags stand out.

“Particularly, if experience isn’t required or the salary seems out of line with experience required, those things individually might to be a red flag, but altogether, having no requirements, a high salary, work from home, and not a local employer, those things should be taken as red flags,” Julie Godshall Brown, President of Godshall Recruiting in Greenville, said.

If you believe you have come across an employment scam, report the incident to the website where the job was posted and contact the local FBI field office or the Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.

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