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Be Aware of "Job" Fraud Scams that often require applicants to forward money from one bank account to another
With so many career resources available on the Internet, searching for opportunities to make extra money or a career move has never been easier. Unfortunately, not all employment advertisements are legitimate. People should be careful to avoid a recent type of job scam, known as payment-forwarding or payment transfer scams.
How the Scam Usually Works
- A fraudster pretends to be a legitimate employer or they represent themselves as being from a reputable company, and place an ad in a career publication, on a website or through an unsolicited e-mail.
- An unsuspecting job applicant responds to the phoney job advertisement or e-mail.
- When "hired", the applicant is requested to accept and transfer money from their bank account to another account, often located in another country.
- The applicant is advised to keep a small percentage of the money being transferred as their payment.
- Almost always, the money the applicant is transferring is either stolen or being laundered, which could make the applicant an accomplice to theft or wire fraud.
This type of scam varies and can be quite clever. Fraudsters may request an applicant's bank account information in order to set up a direct deposit payment schedule or they may transfer the funds themselves without the applicant's knowledge. Fraudsters may steal company names and corporate logos to make their ad or e-mail invitation more convincing. They may also scan for resumes that job seekers have posted online and then contact them directly.
How to Spot These Types of Job Scams
Job scams often contain "red flags" that can help you spot it as being fraudulent:
- Any requests for bank or credit information, Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Social Security Number (SSN).
- Misspellings and grammatical errors in the job ad.
- Job descriptions that involve transferring funds.
- Suspicious contact information such as:
- personal e-mail addresses or addresses from free e-mail service providers
- the only communication offered is via e-mail
- the ad or e-mail indicates a legitimate company name, but you cannot get independent confirmation that the phone numbers or e-mail addresses listed are actually associated with that company
- Receipt of unsolicited e-mail inviting the recipient to apply for these jobs.
Tips to Help Avoid Payment Forwarding Job Scams
- Do not post a resume online that includes sensitive information, which could be used to steal your identity or exploit your financial accounts (e.g. SIN or SSN, birth date, driver's license number, passport number or financial account numbers).
- Do not provide a potential employer with bank account or credit card information before reporting for work. Legitimate employers do not need this information for direct deposit before you start a job.
- Be cautious of ID verification scenarios. Never e-mail or fax a potential employer copies of sensitive documents to verify your identity, like your driver's license or passport.
- Never accept a job that involves transferring money using your bank account.
- Never accept, forward, transfer or wire money to an employer or retain a portion of the payment.
- Do not respond to job opportunities that require you to a pay a fee.
- Check a potential employer's reliability and complaint record with Consumer Protection offices.
Number One Tip for avoiding these scams: when searching for opportunities to make a career move or a little extra money, always remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
How to Report a Suspicious E-mail or Web site Fraud
If you encounter a suspicious job advertisement or an unsolicited e-mail that appears to be from any of the RBC Financial Group (R) companies, do not respond and contact us immediately.
E-mail
Phone Us
Call us Toll Free at 1-800-769-2555.
If you are overseas, please try our Toll Free access from 21 countries by dialing your country code + 8000 769-2555.
You may also reach us by calling 506 864-1555.
TDD/TTY users, please call 1-800-661-1275
If You Believe You have been Victim of a Job Scam
If you may have inadvertently provided sensitive information or may have responded to one of these advertisements, contact us immediately and we can discuss measures that can be put in place to help you protect yourself. If you are in Canada, you should also contact Phone Busters by calling 1-888-495-8501 or e-mail at info@phonebusters.com.
If you live in the U.S. please contact your local authorities as well as the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) at 1-877-382-4357.
You may also visit the "Protecting Your Identity" section of this Security Web site for further information on "Things You Should Do If You Suspect You Are A Target"
More Information About Job Scams
To learn more about payment forwarding and job scams, visit the following Web sites:
Canadian Fraud Links
US Fraud Links
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