New Job Search Scam

Beware of Snakes!

I am so appalled!  I am angry!  I just heard from my friend about the scam some “nice lady” tried to impose upon her.  Fortunately, my friend is not stupid or desperate, and responded to the “nice lady” she had no interest (maybe with different words).

Let’s call my friend Ann (not her real name).  Nice Lady apparently found Ann’s profile on Linkedin.com, which, of course shows where she works for an excellent company, experiencing some changes.  The Nice Lady looked at the connections Ann has and picked one of the names.  Nice Lady called Ann at work to tell her about a “fabulous opportunity.” She told Ann her Linkedin connection suggested her.  Ann said she’d return her call later, after work.  Nice Lady responded by asking her to call on her break, expressing urgency.

Ann feels her job may be insecure, due to the changes she is seeing; therefore, she excitedly returned the call in the afternoon.  For a measly $5000, Nice Lady, whose profile on Linkedin shows she is an author and advertising guru, would include her in the next book she’s writing, thereby helping Ann “brand” herself for her upcoming job search.

Ann’s elation dropped to a new low in disappointment.  Little did that Nice Lady know the difficulties and challenges Ann has recently faced and may face, if her job evaporates soon.  How cruel!

My fervent hope is the Nice Lady finds no one stupid enough to pay her one cent for “branding.”   If anyone approaches you with any story even remotely related to this, tell the individual not to call you or any of your friends.

Whether you are an Analog Engineer, an Administrative Assistant, a CFO, an Accountant or Director of Sales, you may be approached by unsavory individuals.   If you have been scammed or think you might have been approached by a scammer, you can report it to several different agencies.  File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.  Also, you can report the incident via http://www.scamchecker.com/LinkedIn-Scam.  Linkedin.com is understaffed, according to my research with little time to investigate.  But if you’ve actually paid money and think the incident is fraudulent, you can report it to your local police.  Also, you might report the incident to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

I wrote an article awhile ago, titled A $10,000 Resume, which I’ll repost next week to again warn job seekers to be extremely careful.  I know all too well that the world contains unscrupulous individuals, willing to prey on others.  I just don’t see how they can sleep at night!