Tag: Job Scams

Looking for local caregiver gigs that pay well? Care.com said it could help, for a monthly subscription fee. But, in a settlement announced today, the FTC says Care.com misled workers about how many jobs were available on the platform and how much they could earn — and made it hard to cancel subscriptions — costing a lot of people a lot of time and money.

You might be a spouse who’s PCS’d to a new location or a servicemember getting ready to retire — and you’re probably eyeing new career possibilities. You know where to look for a job, but do you know how to recognize the signs of a job scam?

July is Military Consumer Month, so we’re deploying advice you can use. No matter what stage of military life you’re going through, you could encounter an imposter scam: someone pretending to be your bank’s fraud department, the government, a relative in distress, a well-known business, or a technical support expert. Want to protect yourself and the people you care about? Let the FTC help.

If you’re looking for a new job, getting paid to shop might sound like a dream. Companies hire mystery shoppers to try products or services and share experiences about things like buying or returning something, or their overall customer experience. But while some mystery shopping jobs are legitimate, many aren’t. So how do you spot the scams?

Thinking about applying for a job with the United States Postal Service (USPS)? Make sure you’re dealing with the real thing. Scammers advertise jobs that don’t actually exist to try to steal your money and personal information — and one way they do that is by pretending to be USPS. So how do you know if that postal ad or offer you get is a scam?

Getting hired might feel like the ultimate high. But finding out it was just a scammer trying to steal your money will bring you — and your bank balance — right back down. Many college students look for virtual jobs they can do while going to school, but if a new employer mails your first paycheck before you even start working, that’s your cue to stop — it’s a scam.

Maybe you — or even your pet — are an influencer. But did you know that scammers might target you with phony job opportunities? You might get a message on social media, supposedly from a recruiter or “brand ambassador manager” of a national company. They say they’ll send you free products and pay you big bucks to promote and tag their stuff on social media. All you need to do, they say, is give them your banking information so they can pay you. But this isn’t a job opportunity. It’s a scam, and here’s how to avoid it.

As a nanny or caregiver, you know that families and employers trust you to take care of their children or older adults. It’s the same trust that scammers want to build with you when they post ads for fake jobs to steal your money and personal information. So how do you spot the scam?

That call or text might not seem like a scam. It might look like it’s Apple or Microsoft, saying there’s a problem with your computer. (It’s not.) It might seem like it’s Amazon, saying there’s a problem with an order. (Also no.) It might even sound like your grandchild, calling with (supposedly) an emergency. (Still no.) All of these are scammers. This is National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) and we’re inviting you to join us in talking about scams just like these.

Every day people report to the FTC the scams they spot. Every year, the FTC shares the information we collect in a data book which tells a story about the top scams people tell us about – so we can all spot and avoid them.