Be wary of job scams this summer

The summer job churn is here and postings for temporary staff are cropping up across the province. It’s an exciting time for many – when we learn the habits, skills and competencies that will carry us into our professional careers. It’s also when we will make lifelong friends and put some money in the bank to get us through another Manitoba winter.

But, alongside the opportunity and excitement lies an increased risk. Scammers are targeting casual workers, especially university students, to see if they can lure them into their fake promises of easygoing, high-paying gigs.

It often begins with an email to a student’s university email account. The scammer may try to impersonate a professor, a human resources service centre or a company in the community. They’ll offer the student a summer job that seems easy and pays well. At some point, the scammer will say that part of the job requires purchasing supplies for the soon-to-be employee or the company. This should alert all your senses. They’ll mail a cheque and tell the student to use it to pay for the supplies before keeping the rest as a payment. The supplies may include gift cards, money orders or prepaid debit cards. The student will be instructed to send these elsewhere or even perform an electronic transfer to another individual.

Since it can take a bank weeks to verify a cheque, the student won’t know that the cheque they received will bounce and they’ll be out all the money they used to purchase these things for the “company”. The scammer will have the prepaid cards or e-transfers, and the student will likely never see that money again.

It’s harsh and predatory, picking on members of our society who are already stressed about tuition fees, student debt and starting their lives as young adults. But the scammers don’t care. That’s why it’s so important to take the following precautions when looking for short term work.

Before you agree to a job, take the time to independently research the company and company owner. Apart from any links or emails they’ve sent you; do they have a standard profile online? Can you find the business on BBB.org? Look at independent ratings there and ensure the contact information matches. It never hurts to call the company through a verified number to ensure it was truly them that reached out.

Be wary of any company or individual who wants to hire you without an interview.

Stop before you ever send money, gift cards, prepaid cards or transfers at the request of a company. No legitimate company would ask you to perform these tasks on their behalf.

Any job that is advertised as “secret shopper” or “mystery shopper” is immediately suspicious. Work offering high bonuses or higher-than-standard wages should also be triple-checked.

It’s important to stay vigilant early in the process. As soon as a scammer starts the “hiring” process with you, they may ask for many personal details including financial information and your SIN. Once they have these, they can use them to steal your identity or further financially victimize you.

This year, soak up all the excitement that comes with summer jobs without the stress by taking a few extra precautions before accepting that offer.