Young consumers, including college graduates looking for a job or new home, can lose large sums of cash and vital information such as Social Security numbers to this scams.
There is a noticeable rise in the Job scams and fake rental scams in 2023. Young people between the ages of 18 and 34 heavily rely on social media to find any information which is easy to Communicate via SMS or messaging apps. However, scammers often hide behind technology and impersonate other people, sometimes targeting potential victims pretending as trusted friends or brand names.
Rental listing scams are usually aimed at stealing money from interested renters. They ask for a security deposit or move-in fee without looking at the house or rental property and you might rapidly submit sensitive information, such your Social Security number, and pay for the credit check using your credit card. However, someone is about to steal your cash as well as significant personal data about you that might be used to perpetrate further crimes.
The “landlord” disappears, and you see strange transactions on your credit card, which is when you realise that this is a scam. In the future, you might even experience identity theft, in which someone opens credit cards or obtains loans using your name.
Social media businesses may not always be able to identify scammers even though they have systems to locate and remove them. For several weeks or months, a fraudster may legally utilise a profile to give the impression that they are a real person. When you receive a random call regarding job opportunity the sender will state that they discovered your CV on any career website in an effort to establish their trustworthiness with you. An impostor could pretend to be any corporation they desire, even a well-known one like Google or Amazon.
Points to remember while checking for a rental apartment:
Look at the house first. Consumer guardians caution that landlords may use the excuse that they are out of town or ill in order to trick you into thinking they can’t show you the flat.
Get a copy of your credit report as soon as possible to check for any irregularities, such as past instances of identity theft. To obtain a free credit report from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, visit AnnualCreditReport.com.
Before you sign a lease, your landlord will want to verify your credit, but this step should come after you’ve visited the flat or house in person and filled out an application.
Points to remember while searching for a job:
Emailing is the realistic technique scammers prefer to target a large number of people. If a corporation contacts you by email when you weren’t expecting it or if you haven’t applied to them. Cross check the mail id and most probably check on the mail format and grammatical mistakes to verify if it’s legitimate.
Scammers may create fake social media profiles or groups to advertise fake job drives or openings. Be cautious of URLs like bit.ly from anonymous sources before responding to any job advertisements on social media because they could lead anywhere. Before taking any action, review the profile and quickly conduct a research to see if you can discover further details about the recruiter or business.
The scammer might use the similar design from the real employer, it might be challenging to recognise a faked website. Even though the job postings are phoney, a fake website may appear authentic when you first access it. Usually, you won’t find these websites through a Google search but rather from a link from another website. Consider it a significant warning sign if the website requests sensitive information from you, such as your Social Security number. Exit the page and look up the organisation to see if you can find the legitimate domain and careers portal.