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SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California.

April 21, 2022

JOB OPPORTUNITY SCAMS

Courtesy Federal Trade Commission

Here are some common job and money-making scams:

Scammers post fake job ads for mystery shoppers, personal assistants, or caregivers. If you apply, they might send you a check, tell you to deposit or cash it, keep part and send the rest to someone else. The check is fake, and by the time the bank realizes it, the scammer has your money, and the bank will want you to repay the money you withdrew.

Business opportunity pyramid schemes.

Some might look like legitimate business opportunities that sell real products, but they’re scams. Pyramid scheme promoters may say you can change your life, — quit your job, even get rich — by selling the company’s products. That’s a misleading lie. Your income is based mostly on how many people you recruit, not how much product you sell. Eventually, most victims find they can’t sell enough inventory or recruit enough people to make money. They quit the program and lose everything they invested.

Business coaching scams.

Offers for online business coaching programs promising guaranteed income with no experience, large returns, or a “proven system” are scams. They say their “experts” will teach you this “proven method” for building a successful business online. But if you invest thousands of dollars in a coaching program, you learn the scammers lied about how easy and lucrative the model would be, and you are left with nothing to show for your investment.

More information available.

Visit ftc.gov/scams for more information on spotting and avoiding scams, then share what you learned during #FinancialLiteracyMonth. If you see or lose money to a job or money-making scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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