Contractor Scammed while Looking for Work: Don’t be a Victim

With the economy spiraling down the drain and unemployment rate going up, along with it is the rise in numbers of identity thieves. Because of the growth of individuals losing their jobs lately, many unwanted persons want to take advantage of the desperation of these job seekers.

Take for example that news about a certain person, in the hopes of finding a job over the internet; he caught himself losing two $100 bills from his account without him knowing. This happened right after he followed instructions on a job listing ad on how they’d be able to hire them or give them work tasks and be paid home based. At some point, the supposed poster required the candidate to submit vital information such as his driver’s license number, social security number, his address, and almost his entire world for the sake of a should have been background check.

The ad post also mentioned that by doing so, he’d be notified about his work 48 hours after. But days had passed without any word from the said company. He then noticed the different comments under the said job posting. Messages from other contractors like him wrote there something like it being a scam.Then someone suggested that whoever had followed the said instructions should check their bank account.

And so this certain contractor did, and that’s when he found out about the money that he had been losing slowly without his idea. Without knowing what to do next, the said contractor victim closed his debit card account immediately and a fraud investigation for the said website owner was requested. Out of desperation, we all get to jump on to whatever comes our way that we find would be helpful.

However, in that rush we tend to ignore the safety precautions that we should be following. Amidst the worry and panic, one should always remember to keep your head straight especially when it’s about your security. Important information that shouldn’t be shared without proper papers should be kept private. If you are asked for a background check, you should also inquire about who will do the background check and the search should be legal, and properly guided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The next thing to consider is to try and do background search as well on your prospected employer or company. You have the right to know whether the company and employer, or the job poster flyer is legit or not. This will guarantee that you’re not falling in some phishing job post, or identity theft and fraud. By taking in all these precautionary measures, you’ll be assured the security that is more important than losing everything just because you thought you’d finally have a job.

Remember that you need to be able to work to earn enough for a living, not lose it on the way there. Not caring about what you’re doing would only lead you to more trouble, and believe me; you wouldn’t want to have that. Not now when life and work is becoming synonymous to survival. Safety and security still outranks risking your identity.