16 replies to this topic

[rayzoredge]

I'm going to share with you one of the most frustrating things to deal with while on Craigslist.

I'm a rather-computer-savvy person, so you wouldn't think that I wouldn't fall for any scammish material. However, I've sent (fortunately, harmless) information to "potential employers" because I'm in search of an additional job.

To make it short and sweet for readers: if you respond to a Craigslist posting and you get something that looks canned, raise the red flag. If you send follow-up e-mails to a "person" and they lead you to a website to complete your interview, raise a red flag. If they don't have a phone number, slightly raise a red flag... some people don't want to be called, but scammers really won't want to be called. Also, within legitimate-looking e-mails, pay attention to the URLs the links are sending you to. If it has a referral number, looks out-of-whack, or in any way suspicious, forget it.

I'm just sick of this crap on having to deal with fake postings and wasting my time and energy, waiting for a job opportunity that never was. So far I haven't gotten anything requiring anything more than my e-mail address and my physical address (which I could give two flying you-know-whats about anyone knowing), but it is still very, very frustrating. Add this to the telemarketing scam calls I've been receiving on my WORK phone and it's been a hell of a time. (I hope signing up for the National Do-Not-Call list stops a majority of those calls...)

[mahesh2k]

I don't know if you're aware of this. But there are some people who benefit from selling resumes. and by creating fake companies,giving employment ads etc. I'm constantly seeing one ad of a company on monster. That company is posting ad on almost every technology out there. and their most of the calls are for freshers. and they even released their webpage earlier. i don't know what happened to their site now. But their site was horribly designed. something like you can say geocities style that beginner sites. That site only had contact info and company profile and some blah blah company material. Now the thing is how site like monster allows such spammers.


Some questions coming to my mind are, how they're earning by posting employment ads ? I can understand that they can sell fresher job seekers resume to consultancy companies. This could be way to earn money. Gray area here we can say cause there are plenty of consultancy do that in one way or the other. But some scammers are ruining this. They're on Dice, Monster, Facebook, Orkut. and almost every possible job seeker sites you can imagine. If site is famous then they are there. Don't know how to deal with them. But i do know how to track them and to recognize such scammers out of crowd. They have pattern of posting and way to approach any newbie. So be cautious on job seekers sites.

[jlhaslip]

The same concern for security and providing personal information applies to the entire Internet.
Be very careful about what information you provide and to whom. This is especially important to younger members.
The Internet can contain some very scary surprises. Defend yourself early and often.

[TheDisturbedOne]

I'd suggest you look in newspapers and on trusted local websites to pursue employment. Craigslist has many scammers, though there are tons of legit people on there. You won't find many scammers putting an ad in the local paper looking for people to scam.

[Nameless_]

I am new to Craiglist... and I don't know where to start... can I get a job there? Even if I'm probably like, underage?

And I was just looking through the jobs and stuff... and there was a sample testing one. Are they genuine? And I trust it?
How do I get a job there?

Yeah well... and has anyone actually received their payment through Craiglist? Because I don't think there's any point in doing that if no one has.

[TheDisturbedOne]

I believe that the OP was talking about looking for a job on Craigslist, not looking for a job working for Craigslist. I don't think that they advertise those positions, and are given to trusted members of the project, or assigned in some other random way. I'd expect that you would have to be 18 to work for Craigslist, considering some of the ads aren't in the PG-13 rating.

[rpgsearcherz]

rayzoredge, on Sep 17 2009, 09:16 AM, said:

I'm going to share with you one of the most frustrating things to deal with while on Craigslist.

I'm a rather-computer-savvy person, so you wouldn't think that I wouldn't fall for any scammish material. However, I've sent (fortunately, harmless) information to "potential employers" because I'm in search of an additional job.

To make it short and sweet for readers: if you respond to a Craigslist posting and you get something that looks canned, raise the red flag. If you send follow-up e-mails to a "person" and they lead you to a website to complete your interview, raise a red flag. If they don't have a phone number, slightly raise a red flag... some people don't want to be called, but scammers really won't want to be called. Also, within legitimate-looking e-mails, pay attention to the URLs the links are sending you to. If it has a referral number, looks out-of-whack, or in any way suspicious, forget it.

I'm just sick of this crap on having to deal with fake postings and wasting my time and energy, waiting for a job opportunity that never was. So far I haven't gotten anything requiring anything more than my e-mail address and my physical address (which I could give two flying you-know-whats about anyone knowing), but it is still very, very frustrating. Add this to the telemarketing scam calls I've been receiving on my WORK phone and it's been a hell of a time. (I hope signing up for the National Do-Not-Call list stops a majority of those calls...)

I completely understand how you feel. I've put in many applications now to "companies" on CraigsList and most of them send you to "Complete surveys to earn $150 an hour!" sites and stuff like that.

[Nameless_]

TheDisturbedOne, on Sep 18 2009, 07:53 AM, said:

I believe that the OP was talking about looking for a job on Craigslist, not looking for a job working for Craigslist. I don't think that they advertise those positions, and are given to trusted members of the project, or assigned in some other random way. I'd expect that you would have to be 18 to work for Craigslist, considering some of the ads aren't in the PG-13 rating.

Oh OK... right. Yes.... a job position that is listed on Craiglist on trying samples... darn, if it's 18+, then I don't think I'll be allowed. But it's only testing products!!! (And keeping them, of course!!!!)

[rayzoredge]

I don't mean to discredit Craigslist by much if I did, but it's just too easy to hit up job-seekers with scams promising stuff or even look like a legitimate job listing for innocent job-seekers that will have no idea that their personal information would be stolen and probably sold to the highest bidder. I've already got spam making its way through my Gmail spam blocker because "I subscribed" to it. B*st*rds.

Even with legitimate listings, though, another frustrating thing I've come to realize is that people are HORRIBLE with getting back to you. Here's the deal: If you post a listing asking for help or if you're selling something, don't post and forget about it. At least check it at the end of the day so you don't leave potential customers or employees waiting, wondering if they just wasted their time or if their resume was sent into a black hole. If you want something to sell and you did sell it, don't keep the stupid listing up so that you get pestered with e-mails left and right for something you don't have anymore. (That just seems like common sense to me... and yes, we all forget, but I'm sure that we have sore reminders whenever we have to reply to people that we sold something a WEEK ago.)

Surprisingly enough, I've NEVER seen a job listing for completing surveys and crap... but I have seen one about testing products and a bunch with clinical studies, which may or may not be a scam. (Google for the listing text and more likely than not, you'll find that it's a scam. I almost fell for one until I actually raised my red flag and searched for it.)

Some scammers are retarded, too. I saw a job listing for a project manager with a description for an administrative assistant.

[iGuest]

posted an ad on CL with resume and link to my LinkedIn profileLook Out For Scams On Craigslist

I responded to an ad on Craigslist for a position that looked legit, but have since discovered it is not - just another scammer. What, if anything, can a scammer gain from having even some of my personal information, ie. Phone, address, LinkedIn profile? I've had several professionals tell me to list my physical address on my resume which I have done and am usually very conscientious about who receives it.  dumb. I understand that even after forwarding to a legitimate post, it could still get routed to a stranger, but this one I'm just sick over the fact that it's now in the hands of some a Craigslist spammer/scammer.

I have had success with obtaining interviews through Craigslist postings in the past and have only once (before now) unknowingly answered a spammers ad. I'm still dealing with spam email everyday from that one. In this case, I didn't follow one of my own rules of thumb which only allows me to answer ads that list a company name or person that I can research before supplying them with a cover letter and resume. This one, however, sounded legit. I'm getting the feeling spammers are getting wiser and finding better writers to write their posts. 

If someone could lend me some piece of mind on this one as to what could be done with my info., I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

[iGuest]

posted an ad on CL with resume and link to my LinkedIn profileLook Out For Scams On Craigslist

I responded to an ad on Craigslist for a position that looked legit, but have since discovered it is not - just another scammer. What, if anything, can a scammer gain from having even some of my personal information, ie. Phone, address, LinkedIn profile? I've had several professionals tell me to list my physical address on my resume which I have done and am usually very conscientious about who receives it.  dumb. I understand that even after forwarding to a legitimate post, it could still get routed to a stranger, but this one I'm just sick over the fact that it's now in the hands of some a Craigslist spammer/scammer.

I have had success with obtaining interviews through Craigslist postings in the past and have only once (before now) unknowingly answered a spammers ad. I'm still dealing with spam email everyday from that one. In this case, I didn't follow one of my own rules of thumb which only allows me to answer ads that list a company name or person that I can research before supplying them with a cover letter and resume. This one, however, sounded legit. I'm getting the feeling spammers are getting wiser and finding better writers to write their posts. 

If someone could lend me some piece of mind on this one as to what could be done with my info., I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

[iGuest]

NEVER located legit employment on craigslistLook Out For Scams On Craigslist

I have been seeking alternative employment for nearly a year; I generally have looked through local, legit sites. However, in the past 6 months I have been going to CL almost daily. I continually find interesting positions that I would easily be considered for & apply...Not ONE SINGLE time have I located a legit position! Always with the generic reply...Sometimes in the middle of the night even. They always expect you to click on a site to post your application. I even had 2 positions expect me to fill out a credit report! I was in awe with that one b/c I couldn't imagine anyone being ignorant enough to actually do it. Then it made me sad because I imagine there are people out there who have done it...The scam, ultimately being leading people to the "free credit report" site where the scammer gets paid per "customer". 

I will continue to look on CL each day in hopes of finding an honest & ethical posting. However, I would advise job-seekers to take some extra measures to keep his/herself safe...Measures I didn't start off taking & really feel regret in my heart for now:

1) If it's not a specific job description, it's probably fake. If it pays really well for a medial job, it's probably fake. If it sounds too good to be true, on CL, I can almost guarantee it IS too good to be true. If there are grammatical errors, poor punctuation, misspellings, etc...It's probably fake & foreign.

2) Create an email account ONLY for your employment seeking. It makes things much easier to manage & helps decrease confusion with these irritating & bogus postings.

3) Reply to the poster with a simply inquiry. "I would like to exprees my interest in the Blah, Blah, Blah position I found posted on www.Craigslist.Com. Is this position still open? Could you please send me a full description of the position and your business information...I would be happy to share additional information with you by means of an invitation for a personal interview..." Sign short email as first name & last initial, or visa versa. Don't even feel bad to add a line regarding your experience with previously dishonest postings making you hesitant to offer any personal information. Real employers will appreciate your intuition.

4) If you get a reply to hit a website, fill out a report, etc...Anything NONhuman, hit delete. You know there's no way that's a real person trying to gain a new employee. Of course, if you ever get a reply that you sound like a great addition to their staff...Without a formal meeting, you KNOW there's nothing for you there.

5) Remove your home address & phone numbers from your initial resume. I know that it's by no means fail-safe, but only keep that personal information on a resume you are choosing to personally HAND to a potential employer. No airwaves need to know your home address or contact information aside from your newly created email account. It's just a little bit more protection for yourself, in my opinion.

I hope that someone finds this helpful...This has been my experience. I wish I had started investigating prior to searching for employment on that site. But, when you are seeking employment, you just want it NOW & no one considers the possibility of liars out there making up jobs that seem too good to be true!

Good luck.

-reply by Frustrated

[iGuest]

Look out for scams on CraigslistLook Out For Scams On Craigslist

I don't send my resume/ vita to CL postings. Simply send an e-mail expressing interest in the posting. If you receive a response thanking you for your resume, you know it's a scam.

 

I also refuse to send personal information to a posting via a gmail account. If the posting doesn't include a company name with a contact person AND company e-mail I treat it as a scam.

 Annoying to have to wade through so much crap on CL but there are legit job offers on it, you just have to be skeptical.

-reply by Johnny

[iGuest]

 Even local newspapers have scam listings, in my area there are a few 'companies' that will post job listings for various decent sounding jobs, then you call their number, and it's an automated thing that tells you some crap about paying like $150-$200 and they will help you find a job. IF they even do any kind of helping after you pay them, they usually give you small stack of applications for random places which often includes applications for the same place many times. (ex. A stack of 100 applications, however there's only actually 20 unique applications and the rest are duplicates)

 Sadly people are taking advantage of a poor job market, trying to scam the desperate job hunters out of time and money. It would be great if these types of bogus listings were filtered out of the big employment websites like monster, careerbuilder, etc. However, if there is no way of reasonable way of preventing that type of scam on the employment websites then there's little hope for craigslist as well. Just be careful out there.

-reply by Anony

[sheepdog]

I don't know about posting ads for hunting a job on Craigs list, but for selling things, I guess it depends on what you have available. I have some friends that use Craigs list and swear by it, but for the most part, if you have a dog, and attempt to post it on Craigs list, the animal rights wacko's get your add removed. I tried it just for the heck of it the other day, and I got about forty or fifty responces that were nothing more than pure scams or just a link to some site selling some kind of junk.
It's too bad that it seems there are more people out there trying to cheat people than there are those trying to make an honest living.

[hdblue]

sheepdog, on 30 May 2010 - 11:36 PM, said:

I don't know about posting ads for hunting a job on Craigs list, but for selling things, I guess it depends on what you have available. I have some friends that use Craigs list and swear by it, but for the most part, if you have a dog, and attempt to post it on Craigs list, the animal rights wacko's get your add removed. I tried it just for the heck of it the other day, and I got about forty or fifty responces that were nothing more than pure scams or just a link to some site selling some kind of junk.
It's too bad that it seems there are more people out there trying to cheat people than there are those trying to make an honest living.

Hi,

Thanks very much for your reply. It help me to think about my ideals.

Apart from that, you also can ref more resources at: Project manager job description
Tks again and pls keep posting.

Edited by hdblue, 21 March 2011 - 01:37 AM.