Preying On The Desperation Of The Unemployed

Preying On The Desperation Of The Unemployed - 3-5-2009

Home

Index of Filings

News and Press Releases

Filings

Decisions

Settlements

Litigation Activity Indices

Top Ten List

Annual/Quarterly Updates

Clearinghouse Research

Articles & Papers

Search

Related Sites

About Us

Local Rules

Sponsors

Register

_______________
Copyright © 2001
Stanford Law School

2009 News and Press Releases

SEARCH

News	News 2009
HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

HEADLINE NEWS:

Preying On The Desperation Of The Unemployed
Staff Writer

http://www.accountingweb.com . March 5, 2009
_________________________________________________________________________

EXCERPT: As many unlucky job seekers are learning the hard way, an ailing economy can bring out the worst in people. With the unemployment rate at a 17-year high, some job searchers are feeling desperate, making them vulnerable to scammers who are happy to take advantage by promising job placements in return for money or personal information that is later used for identity theft. Joe Epstein, 58, of Brentwood, MO, did not fall into a common trap. A recent e-mail from a staffing firm promised him a portal to a new job, about a year after he was laid off as a sales representative. He called the company, talked to a "very nice, very positive" woman, who told him that his resume was selected from a job search engine. She told him that her company could improve his resume, offer interview tips, and provide him with "exclusive" job listings, all for a mere $4,000. Epstein said no thanks. "Once you give them your credit card, you're up a creek," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Consumer advocates say be suspicious if anyone seeks payments to locate a job. "I've never met anyone who had to pay to get a legitimate job," said Chris Thetford, director of communications for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. The Federal Trade Commission received nearly 6,000 complaints against employment agencies and job-counseling services in 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported - and this was before 3.6 million Americans lost their jobs. Linda Dominguez, author and executive coach, says fraudsters apparently are targeting increasingly desperate executives, who are paying thousands of dollars in upfront fees to phony executive search firms. In general, "Executive recruiters are paid by the companies, so if they are asking for your money, a red flag should go up," Dominguez told the Journal.

Back to News page | Back to Archived News 2009 page | Back to Top

�