LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)– Job scams have climbed to the second most risky scam type right behind online purchases. Job scammers have become very skilled at falsely representing employers, conducting interviews, and even providing phony offer letters.

The Better Business Bureau of Acadiana has received reports about nontraditional job scams. Often times, these scams are conducted on reputable, third-party job search websites.

Chris Babin of the BBB of Acadiana says the scary part is how easy it is for scammers to pretend to be a company on job posting sites like Indeed. Scammers can simply create a company profile and start posting jobs. However, there are still some things to look out for when interacting with potential employers.

“You receive a random text message that you applied for a job, click on this link so you can schedule an interview, and then you do actually speak to somebody and schedule an interview,” Babin said.

According to Babin, in most cases, these scammers are only trying to access your personal information. They will offer a job on the spot and request bank and direct deposit information. Scammers will move very quickly to compromise personal information.

“They’re going to send you a check which of course is fake. They want you to deposit that into your account and then spend funds and send money back to them or just pay up front for some office equipment to get delivered to your house so you send a payment,” said Babin.

Money will either never be reimbursed or the promised office equipment will never arrive once a payment is made.

Here are some tips to avoid job scams:

• Research the person who contacted you. If you suspect the person contacting you could be a scammer, look them up.
• Do more research on the company. If you get a surprise offer to interview, it’s worth doing more research to learn more about their hiring process.
• Guard your personal information. Be especially wary if someone pressures you to give your information saying the job offer will only last if you fill out all the forms.
• Watch out for overpayment scams. Many job scams involve sending fake checks with extra funds.
• Don’t fall for jobs that seem too good to be true. If you are offered a job – without a formal interview – that has excellent pay and benefits, it’s likely a scam.

If you have a scam you’d like me to investigate, feel free to send me an email at smasters@klfy.com.