Beware of these job scams that can ruin your retirement!
We all want to make sure we’re financially secure in retirement! So a part-time job does sound great, but that’s until you start thinking about the job scams out there!
Job scams were not invented yesterday, but in today’s job-hunting landscape, they are more frequent than one would like to think about!
Every year new and more improved job scams hit the market, each with an impressive layer of deception that targets the victims and fools them into thinking they struck gold, despite going down the rabbit hole.
And it happens to seniors too! No matter what, there are plenty of job scams out there, and we should be prepared to deal with them, along with being able to identify them so as to not lose our personal details and even money!
Since a lot of the process has been moved into the online space or over the phone, we have gathered some of the most common job scams that target retirees so that you can be on the lookout and not fall for their deception!
Stay alert, stay vigilant!
Have you heard about these before? Do you know that they are also targeted at younger people too? Share your stories about job scams in the comments below!
Fraudulent employer
Some of these scammers have literally no shame. Not that it should come as a surprise when it comes to people who are willing to lie to you that you got a job to get to you to give them money or your personal information, but some are going the extra mile.
Some job openings are from big companies, using the same logos and names as the legitimate company. Some of them even go as far as using the same names as the legitimate staff at the company in order to lure the unsuspecting victims to fake interviews.
A lot of these interviews or questionnaires they have you go through will seem pretty legit, but they all end in the same way.
They announce to seniors they have gotten the job, and then they proceed to get their information as if it were a true onboarding process.
The scam is that they did all of that to get your information, and they are not fit as well. Make sure you check that the emails you communicate with are real and that you can verify the job advertisement on the real company’s website as well!
Weird LinkedIn job offers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been hard at work when it comes to job scams that are being done through LinkedIn, one of the biggest platforms for job seekers out there.
The jib scam they have dealt with has been targeting a lot of seniors as well and is one that has been going on for a while. They contact the people directly with a really promising, well-paying job that has yet to be advertised to the public.
The scammer will then tell the person they are one of the people that would fit the employee profile they need perfectly and that they are sure the candidate will get the job.
Where’s the scam? They ask potential candidates to pay a fee to be able to set up the interview, for example, that can go as high as $2,500!
While the FTC shut down this scam last year, there is no guarantee that job scams like this one aren’t still going around. So be vigilant and know that no respectful company will ask you to pay for an interview!
Be careful of the perfect work-from-home jobs
A lot of us are excited by the idea that we can make some more cash by working from home. As a senior and wanting to have more freedom in retirement, it can be an amazing opportunity.
However, you should be wary of job advertisements that have too many good things about them. They are generally the work-from-home ones that use very broad promises and keep saying that you can “make your own schedule” and that they allow you to “be your own boss.”.
While these are also used by legitimate companies, scammers are using a lot of these buzzwords to attract as many people as they can, and then they promise a really good salary too.
The job scam here is the fact that they will ask you to purchase a starter kit or “online coaching package” in order to be able to access this “one-of-a-kind, amazing opportunity.”.
In reality, if you pay, the company is going to disappear into thin air, and a lot of people have had additional thousands of dollars paid for this training that never happened.
Spot a scam! They request personal financial info
If you have seen a job advertisement that sounds good and there are no red flags, there may be other things that give away the fact that the place is a scam.
You should be vigilant and not let the fact that someone contacted you about a job cloud your judgment. No legitimate employer is going to ask you for your birthdate, SSN, and driver’s license number, just to name a few, from the first interview.
A good way to verify that they are not going to scam you is to follow some job safety search tips. For one, never give out any banking routing information unless you have met the employers in person and you are sure the job is a real one.
If you are hired for a remote job, do not give any sensitive information until you have been signed on an offer. Always verify the companies that end up employing you and that the offer is real before giving out any financial information.
Some cybersecurity experts recommend that you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when you are dealing with any private information when getting employed to make sure you are safe.
Spot a scam! Employer is extremely pushy
A lot of these job scammers will be targeting people who seem to want to work, like seniors who want to make some money on the side.
Since they know people need the money, they will do anything they can to make you agree with them.
If the employer seems to be extremely pushy, know that you may be dealing with a potential scammer.
They will try to push you into making a decision fast, taking the next step even if it is risky for you, or they may be very direct and pressure you into sending personal information and even money!
While most of us know that this sounds fishy and will not be fooled, when you are in the moment, it may not raise that many red flags.
So always stop yourself when you feel like something is not right and take the time to ask someone you trust if you are not sure. Better safe than sorry!
If you want to make sure that you are not going to be a target of any of these scammers and protect yourself from a lot of scams out there, we recommend that you read this book on the topic!
If you’re a senior in the job market and are wondering what you could do to be able to earn some more cash in retirement, Easy Seniors Club’s got you back! Check out all the jobs that hire seniors even when they have no previous experience in that field in this article here!
Leave a Reply