WACO, Texas — Unemployment numbers have reached a record high. As people turn to the internet seeking new or temporary employment, they’re also at an increased risk of employment scams.
Over the past few years there has been a steady rise in employment scams across the nation. Regional director Amy Rasor with the Better Business Bureau said all scams across the board have increased, but employment scams have been number one since 2017.
Now that millions of Americans are unemployed, scammers are taking advantage with fraudulent job postings.
"Seeing now hiring is very appealing, especially when you can work from home, very high salary, and good benefits,” Rasor said.
Most employment scams take place over social media. Rasor said one of the biggest red flags is if a company says they will send you a check to purchase supplies. They will typically send you more than the amount, then ask for the difference to be sent back. The check they sent you will then bounce, and you lose all that money.
"Unfortunately, during hard times is when we see the most scams and now that there's so many people that are unemployed, employment scams are gonna be at the top of the list,” Rasor said.
The best thing to do is check with the company directly to see if they are hiring.
You can also check for reported scams in your area by using the Better Business Bureau’s scam tracker.
Remember to not be so quick to share personal information online, and beware if a job sounds too good to be true.