The Federal Trade Commission has a website at www.ftc.gov/jobscams with information on the types of scams you’re likely to find in Help Wanted listings. They’ve also put together a short video (below) that describes how scammers try to charge job hunters fees to pay for job certification, or to provide access to executive-level interviews, or to acquire study materials that are supposedly crucial to passing a hiring exam. It’s a good refresher course in what to look out for when you’re answering ads.

Here are the top signs of a scam as listed in the video above:

1. They promise you a job.
2. They ask you to pay.
3. They provide information about a job but try to phrase it to sound like they’re actually offering you the job.

If you’ve been the victim of a scam, you can file a complaint with the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint or at 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357).

ftc.gov/jobscams

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