Being cautious and listening to your instincts can help you avoid job scams. Remember, they are offering these “opportunities” for one reason – to enrich themselves. These advertisements aim to steal your personal information or money, so it's important to avoid clicking any links.

Here are some things to help you determine if the job you're looking at is a scam:

Someone contacts you

When someone calls you out of the blue, usually by stating that they found your resume online, be careful.  If the caller offers you a job offer right away, but “they need some information first” it could be a fake offer designed to obtain your personal and financial information.

The pay is extremely high

When the job description offers an unusually high income, it may be a warning sign. For instance, if it states the employer will pay an annual salary of $75,000 for only 15 to 20 hours per week for an entry-level role, it could be a sign to just say no and hang up. Search the company online adding “+scam” to the name, and if there have been reports or negative reviews, they will come up.

The schedule seems unusually flexible

Combined with unusually high pay, the offer of an unconventional schedule can indicate a scam.

Job requirements and descriptions are not clearly stated

Real jobs have specific details and requirements. In scam job offerings, you may notice that the details and requirements are vague.

The company asks you to send a money order, gift card, or other form of payment first

You should never pay anything to get a job.

Written communication is unprofessional and full of errors

In a job offer by email or text, look for inconsistencies in grammar, punctuation, syntax and word usage.

Contact information is missing

Many fake job opportunities will have missing contact information or vague details about the organization. Do an internet search to find a company website or email address. If you still cannot find basic information it is likely a scam.

A company requests confidential information before hiring

If you are asked for any personal information, aside from your basic contact information, such as your Social Security number or bank account number, take this as a sign to hang up.

Here are a few of the more common job scams:

Money laundering

A common money laundering strategy involves the scammer reaching out to you via email. They try to convince you to accept a sum of money and use your personal bank account to transfer it to another account, allowing you to keep a percentage. The scammer is actually trying to acquire your bank account information.

Work-from-home jobs

Scammers are aware of the rising popularity of remote work and target people with work-from-home job scams. Often, the scam involves persuading a job seeker to pay a fee or purchase items. These kinds of jobs are likely a type of pyramid scheme or multilevel marketing organization.

Shipping schemes

Also known as postal fraud. The scammer offers an attractive salary for repackaging and reshipping goods, plus compensation for shipping fees. In most cases, you end up shipping potentially stolen items and paying for the shipping fees – and never see the promised salary.

Mystery shopper schemes

The scammer claims you can work a flexible schedule and earn a high salary by shopping online and evaluating retailers' customer service and offerings. They're rarely credible and typically ask for up-front payment without any intention of assigning work.

Here are some ways you can avoid a potential scam:

Verify website security

You can avoid illegitimate jobs by verifying websites and their security measures. Make sure the web address includes "https://" at the beginning, not "http://." This verifies that the site is both authentic and secure.

Trust your instincts - always

Protect your personal information

If someone asks for personal or financial details, hang up.

If you've already been subject to a scam, here are some steps you can take

Inform your bank

If the scammer stole your bank information, asked you to send a check, or processed a charge on your credit card, call your bank immediately and tell them what happened.

Block communications from the sender

It's important that the sender is unable to scam you any further.

Turn on identity fraud and credit alerts

Your bank may offer credit and identity monitoring services. If someone uses your information, such as applying for a credit card with your name and social security number, you receive a notification instantly.

Report the scam

Report the scam to the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) and CT Dept. of Consumer Protection (dcp.complaints@ct.gov.)

And as always, Pass It On to family and friends!

This article was written by Catherine Blinder, chief education and outreach officer of the Department of Consumer Protection of the State of Connecticut. To learn more about how the Department of Consumer Protection can help, visit us online at www.ct.gov/dcp.