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Scamming job seekers out of money
On November 8, 2005 by Jamie Madigan
One of my favorite websites, Snopes.com, has a story up about how overzealous job seekers are getting fleeced out of their money. Here, see this quote from Snopes:
The scam is simple: Newspaper ads offering high-paying travel-related positions are simultaneously run in a number of cities, or such job postings are listed online. Whoever answers these ads is told he will be interviewed in a distant city for his dream job. Almost as an afterthought, he will be informed the company requires him to wire money to cover a portion of his airfare, this being the corporation's way of ensuring it isn't wasting its resources on candidates that don't bother to show up. The job prospect is given the promise of this sum's being returned to him at his interview, making it seem to the pigeon that he will merely be out of pocket for a few days rather than lose the money permanently. All the while, the about-to-be-gulled is blinded with ongoing patter about fat pay checks, exotic locales, first-class accommodations, and life among the beautiful people.
I imagine this kind of thing isn't new, but the rise of the Internet has made it more common and easier to find out about. People wiser than me taught me to never send money to strangers and never to expect something for nothing. I've had prospective employers drag their feet about reimbursing me for travel expenses accumulated during an interview trip, but I don't see how any sensible person would send money ahead of themselves to someone they've only talked to on the phone. Maybe the scammers are more persuasive than I give them credit for. But if you fall for this kind of scam, you may also want to be on the lookout for a certain Prince in Nigeria, too.
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