• Do your research on all prospective employers. Go to the companies website. Call the company's phone number. Check the company's address or check with The Better Business Bureau.

• Be cautious when dealing with contacts outside of the U.S.A.

• Don’t pay up front for a job placement; most legitimate placement firms charge employers, not job seekers.

• Be cautious when dealing with recruiters whose email does not match the company's name on the job posting. For example, if a recruiter post a job from ACME Company most likely the recruiter’s email address should be janedoe@acme.com not janedoe@yahoo.com. If you see this you should research the company.

• Do not provide your social security number to prospective employers over the phone or online. This should only be done during the face to face application process and giving it at that point is your choice.

• Do not provide your credit card or bank numbers to prospective employers over the phone or online.

• Do not provide any non-work related personal information (i.e. date of birth, social security number, eye color, martial status etc.) over the phone or online. Non-work related personal information should only be given when an offer of employment has been made and should be given on your first day of employment.

Read the following article: Online job listing an ID theft scam By Bob Sullivan at MSNBC

See the full article here:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/830411.asp

"Steer clear of online job scams" is another good article you can read from the Consumers Union's Website. You can find it at the following link Steer clear of online job scams

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Best of luck in a successful job search!

The purpose of this article is to both provide information and facilitate general dialogue about various employment-related topics. No legal advice is being given and no attorney-client relationship created. Please see our "Terms of Use" for further limitations and conditions.