People both young and old continue to fall victim to job scams.
Illegal companies have been known to frequent job sites that are otherwise known as legitimate. It is always good to do your research before applying for a job.
Springs SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Themba Tshabalala warns of some of the signs to be wary of when questioning the legitimacy of jobs.
• Find out if the company is registered.
Many companies parade as registered companies and are not. The best way is to go to Google and search for the company. If it has a website, call the HR department and confirm if the post exists.
• Look for any irregularities in the communication.
There are technical terms and phrases used in professional communication that scammers don’t pay attention to. Spelling and grammar mistakes are usually a sign that scammers are at work. Email addresses not originating from the company could also be a sign of something fishy going on.
An email with @gmail.com or @yahoo.com instead of the company email is a red flag.
Scammers will ask applicants to pay for services like training and new uniforms or to run criminal background checks on them.
• The offer sounds too good to be true.
Watch out if the job promises to pay too much or offers benefits that do not line up with the job title or job description. Jobs that usually require no experience and offer an amount that is decent for the type of work are something to be aware of.
“Last but not least, there are no jobs for sale. We caution citizens to not buy into the scam of getting a job by paying someone.
“We caution people to be vigilant when looking for jobs as now is the time to take advantage of desperate job seekers,” he said.
