Guaranteed employment / income scams

• What is a guaranteed employment or income scam?
• Warning signs
• Protect yourself against guaranteed employment or income scams
• Do your homework
• Decide
• Report them

What is a guaranteed employment or income scam?

A guaranteed employment or income scam claims to guarantee you either a job or a certain level of income. The scammers usually contact you by spam emails and the offers often involve the payment of an up-front fee  for a ‘business plan’, certain start up materials or software. The scammers might ask you to make goods which will never be sold or sell you software that doesn’t do what they claimed it would.

Some scammers also offer ‘career’ services that ask you to subscribe to a job directory or list and ‘guarantee’ a job.

Warning signs

• You receive a spam email offering you either a guaranteed income or guaranteed job.
• The advertisement requires you to send a fee to receive your start up materials.
• The advertisement only specifies a post office box address and not a street address.
• The email or letter may not be addressed specifically to you.

Protect yourself against guaranteed employment or income scams

• Remember there are no get-rich-quick schemes: the only people who make money are the scammers.
• Beware of products or schemes that claim to guarantee income or winnings.
• Beware of job offers that require you to pay an upfront fee.
• Money laundering is a criminal offence: do not agree to transfer money for someone else.
• NEVER send money, or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.
• Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them.

As well as following these specific tips, find out how to protect yourself from all sorts of other scams.

Do your homework

Before you respond to an advertisement that guarantees you employment or a certain income, ask yourself why somebody would use spam emails to recruit people? Is the company reputable and well-known? Could the offer be part of a scam?

Very few, if any, reputable businesses offer guaranteed jobs or income through spam emails. Any job offer you receive through a spam email is likely to be a scam. For other types of advertising, you should still be very careful.

Find out what the job actually involves and what evidence they have to support their claim that you are guaranteed a certain level of income. You should check with your fair trading agency who might be able to help you decide if the offer is legitimate. Always check if the company has a refund or buy back policy if you are required to purchase anything up front and don’t deal with a company or person that does not have a physical street address (as they can be very difficult to contact later on).

Decide

NEVER reply to an unsolicited or spam email, as this may encourage further contact from the spammers. Remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Very few, if any, reputable businesses will guarantee you a job.

Also remember that jobs which involve selling a product can rarely guarantee any income.

Report them

If you have received an offer of guaranteed employment or income, or if you have responded to one you now realise is a scam, you can report it through the SCAMwatch website. You should also spread the word to your friends, family and colleagues to protect them.

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