How to Avoid a Job Interview Scam

When you really need a job, it’s easy to overlook things that would normally alert you to a scam. Here are some tips that may help you identify a fake job interview.

Send out resumes and cover letters to potential employers with job listings matching your area of expertise. Keep a list of the ones you contact and record the date. Follow up with them to improve your chances of acquiring an interview. Be wary of employers who you have not previously had contact with who call or email a job offer or interview.

Do adequate research on any employer before you go on the interview. Determine their location, what type of business they are, and what type of services they offer. Inquire with the Better Business Bureau and see it they have registered complaints. Ask friends if anyone is familiar with the company.

If everything checks out, agree to the interview and go prepared with copies of your resume, cover letter, and a list of references. When you arrive, look closely at the property. Is it in a safe area? Do they have security guards or cameras? Do they look well-established? Only enter the building with the bare necessities and leave most personal belongings at home. Turn off your mobile phone or pager before entering as well.

Do not give the interviewer any personal information during the interview, like your social security number, or any bank information. You name, phone number, address, and then the standard list of past-experience type questions should be the only things they ask you. If you do not want to answer a question, politely refuse. It is your right. You may fear missing out on possible employment, but you don't want to give someone too much information until you know they are legitimate. Pay close attention to the requirements versus the compensation package that they offer. Does it seem like a good match or does it seem a little far fetched? Also be very cautious if they seem too eager to give you the job with minimal questions or interview time. If this happens, do not agree right then. Tell them that you would like to think it over and that you will contact them very soon with a decision. Ultimately, you want to find the perfect job, but you should never get so desperate that you leave yourself open to a scam.


Related articles
Protecting Your Money
How to be Environmentally Friendly in the Workplace

How to Protect Yourself from Unauthorized Third-Party Charges on your Phone Bill

Your phone bill is an open target for scammers to bill you for whatever fake services they choose and your state and federal government will not do anything to change this. You are free to try and fight it, but the best defense is to educate yourself and spread this information to everyone you know. You will find that your efforts are the only thing keeping your money out of a scammer’s pocket.

Look carefully at your monthly phone bill. You should know the type of services you signed up for. If anything looks suspicious, call your phone company and ask them to explain the charges to you. Look for things like Internet hosting services or long distance services that don't belong there.

Ask the phone company to cancel any fraudulent charge and reimburse you for the current month. You will probably find that this is all they will be willing to do. Next, demand that the phone company blocks all third party charges to your account. The ethical thing to do would be for the government to revise the law in favor of the consumer, requiring them to authorize third party charges on their own phone bills, but this is not even a consideration right now. While you are talking to your phone company, ask that they "freeze your long distance carrier." This will help prevent a company from changing your long distance service without your consent.

File a report with the FTC, your state Congressman, and your state attorney general. Also contact your local utilities commission. Reporting a phone bill cramming scam to the FCC is a waste of time as it does not fall under their jurisdiction. You may receive a sympathetic response from your Congressman with instructions on how to protect yourself in the future, but no offer to help fix the overall problem. You can call to confront the illegitimate companies that did this to you, but it won't get you far. The first company that you contact will be the billing company who only provides their billing services between the scammers and the phone company. They will claim to have nothing to do with any other services. If you call the company who perpetrated the scam, they will hang up, be rude to you, or provide a recording of your voice agreeing to a host of things that you never really did.

Learn how the scam works. Here's an example. A representative from the scammer company calls you and tries aggressively to convince you to say something affirmative, like "Yes" or "OK". They will offer you all sorts of things as they attempt to meet their goal. They record your responses and splice them to suit their illegal needs. It's the equivalent of you calling someone and recording them saying "yes" and then playing the tape to the authorities with your voice asking, "Did you break into my home and steal $250,000 from me?" and them answering "yes." I know this sounds totally absurd, but it's exactly how you wind up paying $19.95 per month for something you never agreed to. The difference is that you wouldn't get away with it and yet, somehow they continue to. Learn how to identify these scammers when they call and only provide them with negative responses. It gets them aggravated very quickly. Just keep answering "no" as you hang up. Whatever it is they are offering, you probably don't want it anyway.

Tell everyone you know to check their phone bills regularly and to write letters to their elected government officials expressing outrage that this practice is allowed. Third party billing could survive and be a legitimate means of collecting money from someone if it were properly executed, but this is not the case. Consumers must be constantly on their guard until the agencies who are supposed to protect us do their job and put an end to obvious loopholes in the law governing third party billing on phone bills.


Related articles
Avoiding Online Money Making Scams
Protecting Older People from Scams

How to Avoid Online Money Making Scams

Opportunity presents itself around every corner on the Internet for the average person to become a millionaire overnight. I have spent some time and money "investing" in some of these opportunities and I want to help you avoid spending money on something that will offer you no return.

The first thing to consider when reading an article about making money online is, does the article sound believable? Does it sound legal? Does the program or system that you are buying into produce anything tangible or of any real worth to anyone? Does it offer a guarantee or trial period?

If everything seems to be legitimate at first glance, then it's time to do some investigating. Does the website offer contact information? Is there a phone number listed? If so, call the number and try to speak to a living human being. If you can't get through to anybody now, imagine how hard it will be to get a refund later if needed.

Visit the Better Business Bureau's website (www.bbb.com) and search for the website address (url) for the company that you are considering paying for services. Are they registered? If so, do they have any complaints against them? Do a whois lookup on the domain name. (ex. makelotsofmoneyovernight.com) Web sites like register.com are useful in performing a whois lookup. What name is the website registered under? If you search on this name, what information can you find online? If you find other web sites associated with the original website, search for them with the Better Business Bureau as well.

If you decide to make a purchase from a website, check to see if the "check out" page is on a secure server. If you are using Internet Explorer, look for the yellow lock symbol at the bottom of your web browser. Also be sure the web address begins with "https". When making a purchase, use a credit card rather than a debit card. Credit card companies usually cover fraudulent spending if someone obtains unauthorized access to your account.


Related articles
How to Protect Your Money
How to Shop for Less Money at the Grocery Store