Protect Yourself from Employment Scams

Working remotely has become very popular in the last few years. Job scammers post job listings that promise the potential to make thousands of dollars per month working from home with little effort. They advertise that you can set your own schedule, work for just a few hours a day, or start your own business in a few days.

Unfortunately, their promises are too good to be true and often involve fake check scams, reshipping or reselling scams, or pyramid marketing schemes. Furthermore, these jobs usually require you to buy a "starter kit" that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars, or to pay for training or certifications that have no meaning outside of the company. Some craft or product assembly jobs require you to purchase all the supplies from the company but then don't pay you enough to recover those costs.

Spherion will never ask you to pay money to become an employee. We typically advertise a set schedule for each role, and we do not charge for upskilling or training that leads to certification.

While some retailers employ legitimate mystery shoppers to evaluate and improve their customer experience, mystery shopping becomes employment fraud when the "employer" asks you to purchase goods or services with your own money. Or, if they ask you to cash a check and then wire or deposit the money to a third party. This is money laundering and/or wire fraud, and when the banks uncover it weeks later, you will be responsible for paying back the missing money. 

Spherion never asks its employees to pay money upfront for goods, services, training, certifications, equipment or paperwork.

Some job scammers promise you a guaranteed income if you first purchase a business plan, start-up materials, software or computer equipment, or other items. Other scammers will promise a job if you first pay to appear in a job directory. Both of these examples are scams, and you will only lose money if you agree to their terms. There is no guaranteed job or income behind these scams. Paying to appear in a directory either does not happen, or you appear in a directory that does not lead to any jobs from any legitimate company.

Spherion does not require you to pay money for our placement services, training or equipment as part of our application process. Our clients do not charge potential employees in order to become employed. We will never ask for money or try to sell you goods or services as a condition of earning a paycheck or getting a position. 

If you live outside the United States but want to work within the U.S., some scammers will promise a job if you send them money for "processing fees" or "government fees" for work visa applications and associated paperwork. However, these fraudsters will simply take your money and disappear, leaving you without a job and without any way to recoup your money. 

While Spherion's clients may accept international workers, that is handled on a case-by-case basis. The client will usually expect non-U.S. citizens to already have a valid visa for work in the U.S., or will clearly outline their process for helping you obtain the necessary permits to work for them. They will never ask for money before contracting with you for the job.

Spherion does not assist international workers with work visa applications; thus, we will never ask for payment for work visas or related paperwork from our job candidates.

While there are plenty of legitimate data entry jobs available, the ones that are fraudulent promise an overwhelmingly large amount of money for not much work. These types of fake jobs usually advertise work such as taking online surveys or entering information into online forms. Data entry job scammers will often reveal themselves as fraudulent by saying "this is not a get-rich-quick scheme" when in reality, it is. Data entry job scams sometimes require an upfront payment for your equipment or training. If a prospective employer asks for money before you have a chance to start earning money, it is a scam.

Spherion does not ask its employees to pay any money upfront as a condition of employment. We do not require the purchase of equipment to begin a data entry job. We will never advertise a job using language such as "get rich quick" or something similar.

Pyramid scams occur when people are recruited to sell a product and earn a commission on the units they sell plus the commissions of those they recruit to sell as part of their "team." Those who join the company early have the opportunity to have many people under them contributing to their paycheck, so they can earn a lot of money from this business model. Most people who join at the bottom of the "pyramid" don't have the same success.

Some multi-level marketing (MLM) businesses are legitimate. Tupperware, Mary Kay, and Amway are some of the more well-known, legitimate MLMs. But if a company is asking you to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase a starter kit of a product to sell, or encourages you to aggressively recruit others to your "downline," it is likely a pyramid scheme, and you should avoid it. 

Spherion does not require our employees to recruit other employees in order to be paid well. We value our employees' hard work and only contract with clients who offer fair wages for honest work. We often offer referral bonuses for employees who recommend their family and friends for employment at Spherion. But we never make referrals a condition of receiving a bigger paycheck. 

There are plenty of go-getter recruiters out there who may contact you about an amazing, valid job opportunity. But many job scammers pretend to offer a job opportunity from a fictional (or real) company when none exists. If you're not actively looking for a job and an unfamiliar recruiter contacts you out of nowhere with an opportunity, you should confirm with someone from the company's HR or recruiting department about the legitimacy of the job posting.

Pay attention to the language the recruiter uses: If they are pushy about hiring you right away, or if they cannot describe the key job responsibilities in detail, it is likely a scam. Again, if a recruiter asks for payment to secure the position or to purchase equipment associated with the job, it's probably a non-existent or fraudulent offer, and you should not engage further.

Spherion recruiters will sometimes reach out to an employee or candidate if a job opportunity comes up that closely matches your skills and/or offers higher pay. In this case, we're trying to help you grow your career! Be wary if you hear from a "Spherion manager" or recruiter who you have not worked with before. Don't hesitate to call our office and verify that person works there before agreeing to a new job offer.