And as we all know, right now in the restaurant and hospitality industry, so many people have quit. Or, for example, you know, restaurants - like, another person I interviewed had fallen to a fake job ad for restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake. So basically, they're looking for industries like an airport shuttle driver - right? - like, stuff where they think that people will think, OK, maybe airports are reopening - there's more traffic. Can you talk about how these job ad scams seem to have evolved as the pandemic has worn on? PODKUL: So it's something that people really should be on the lookout for, especially now, since so many people are quitting their jobs or thinking about quitting or still looking for a job.ĬHANG: Well, as you say, all of this is happening as there's been so much churn in the labor market. And as of when I talked to them just a few days before we published the story, it had grown to, like, 36,000. One company that I talked with that's helping both the federal government and state governments safeguard against identity theft has been tracking them, and they saw something like 3,000 of these fake job ads in March. We don't have a precise figure right now because it's sort of an emerging threat. I mean, to take a step back, how prevalent are these job ad scams right now, would you say? And it was basically this script for an airport shuttle job aimed at getting people to share their driver's license, their Social Security number, and once they do that, to really reel them in and try to get as much as you can to basically get their personal details and use them to commit fraud.ĬHANG: Kind of scary as people are looking really, really hard for jobs right now. And eventually, just by looking for it and looking for it, I saw a posting on a Nigerian scam board, where people just trade messages and exchange tips on how to basically do all sorts of scams. PODKUL: I just started taking the text of it and looking around at all the different places where it was showing up. And can you just tell us, where did that quest lead you? He joins us now.ĬHANG: So I just want to start with that airport shuttle driver ad. Cezary Podkul is a reporter with ProPublica, and he recently did a deep dive into these fake ads. And it's only one of many sham job ads that have been popping up lately. And while this posting will not lead to a job, it will likely lead to identity theft.
But, you know, it is a real posting that has become ubiquitous on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, luring would-be workers during one of the biggest upheavals in the labor market in recent history. That sounds pretty good, right? Maybe too good to be true? Well, that's because it is.
A hundred thousand dollars a year to work 35 hours a week, picking up travelers as an airport shuttle driver.
0 kommentar(er)
