So You Think You've Seen Every Kind Of Job Scam In The Book?

Wait until you hear about the scam I came across in South Carolina, This involves a local staffing agency, Goodwill, and SLED.
This staffing agency calls the spplicant, implying that a position is about to come open. They tell them that they have scheduled an orientation. Then they tell them that they need to go to the nearest Goodwill store that has a Job Connection center to get a SLED check, and compell the applicant to pay $15.00 up front. Then they go to the orientation, but they only show them the SLED check & get a drug test, but the cost of the drug test is deducted fron their 1st paycheck. But nobody immediately gets sent on a job, nor is an assignment guaranteed. Of typically 20 people in an orientation class, never more than 5 get called later to go on a job. The fact is, yeah, they tried it with me, but I didn't fall for it.
I called the Goodwill store, & mentioned that what they were doing constitutes fraud. Now, as a non-profit, Goodwill pays $8.00 for a SLED check, & charges an applicant $15.00 up front. There was a heated conversation between the 2 of us.
Later I called SLED. I asked the person that I called if he knew that this was going on, but he acted like he didn't have a clue. I mentioned that there definitely had been fraud here, since at least 80% of those that had been duped out of their money didn't get work. But, not only did he have a horse's ass attitude with me, but he also had the aparent attitude that it was OK because it was a law enforcement agency, they were untouchable, I asked him if SLED would make any effort to end this enterprise, & told him that he was the only thing that could keep me from filing a complaint with the FTC. He then told me to go ahead & file a complaint with the FTC, which I did.
I know there have been some dispicable scams that target the unemployed, but I never thought I'd find one in which I'd find a supposedly charitable organization & a law enforcement agency profiteering off a high unemployment situation, but I did just that. No, you can't make things like this up.

You should call the US Dept. of Labor. It is against Federal law to charge anyone to apply for a job, even medical, credit and background checks.

A lot of people fall for scams like this because they are so desperate for a job.

the flippant attitude these people or organizations have is appalling. breaking laws and ethics. if they can cash in on somebodies misery, so be it. that reprehensible.
glad you called them out on these practices j.

Everyone needs to know this. ANY offer, agency or ad that asks for money up front is not to be taken seriously. Report them immediately, get as much information as you can. Company Name, address, phone number, email address, fax number and the name of the person you spoke with. They will need this information when you report it. If it is local, you need to report it to the police dept. as well.

Rule of thumb, as soon as they ask for cash, or if they ask for pages of references, i.e. 10 they are scamming, looking for people to sell to, normally you will be asked for 1 or 2 personal references.

I'm glad to see the response to this topic. Believe me, I was well aware of the fact that such activity is a violation of a Federal law. Not only that, but the fact that there are victims of fraud, and that telephone and internet were used in the process of this scheme, all parties in this scheme can be prosecuted for wire fraud. As a reminder, wire fraud and mail fraud are Federal crimes, whether or not it crosses state lines.The person that I talked to at SLED seemed to think that they're bulletproof, but they can be prosecuted at the Federal level.
Here are the participants that I have encountered so far. They are the 3 that I named in the complaint;
Phillips Staffing of Greenville, SC. This is the only staffing agency that I know of at present, but I have a feeling there could be others.
Goodwill Industries of the Upstate and Midlands, Greenville, SC
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Columbia SC(SLED)
SLED charges $25.00 for an individual criminal record, but a charitable organization is only charged $8.00. Goodwill, which has non-profit status, has job connection centers in some of it's Greenville area stores, and has computers set up there to do SLED catch reports, and the applicants are charged $15.00. Obviously, they make a profit of $7.00 form each transaction. Then there's the end of the money trail. the $8.00 that goes to SLED.
Thanks for the advice tiya. I will try to contact the US Department of labor. I would appreciate anybody else's help, and would especially like to hear from anybody in the upstate SC area that might have encountered this scheme.

This is awful but there are a lot of scammers trying to profit from the suffering of others. Just a warning, I got a call the other day from someone who said they had a copy of my resume on file and they wanted to talk briefly. I know that there are literally hundreds of resumes out there somewhere but I found it odd that the person didnt identify the company or what position it was, so I googled the number and found a site called directory of unknown callers. There were many others who had heard from that number and figure its some sort of scam. I've learned to never take anything at face value and as much as I need a job, I am VERY careful with whom i share my information!!!

There are a lot of scams online these days with so many unemployed. I removed my phone number and address from my resume. I had a company call me and googled it and found out it was a scam. I never applied to the company. Company is called National Sales Group. I've also had a check sent to me, you know, the Nigerian scam. If I apply to any company, I try to do a lot of research as there are a lot of bad ones out there now. You can't be too careful these days. Also, I don't put my SS# on any job application online.

Unless you are having a face to face meeting and filling out the company's paperwork there is no need to give them your social security number at all.

1. If the company requires a background check you will be asked to fill out all the proper paperwork and sign it, agree to the background search.

2. Other than that, until you are hired and fill out your new hire papers, there is no need for them to have anything more than your application, resume, Driver's License (if required for a driving position). This can be a scam and can lead to them checking your credit without your knowledge. Remember, everytime someone checks your credit, it's a hit against your score. It is against the law for them to do this without your permission.

3. Once hired, you will be required to have proof of citizenship which can be your social security card, birth certificate, drivers license or other state picture id. Some will accept previous pay stubs or W-2,1099. They only need a bank record if you are signing up for direct deposit. They will need your home address, phone #. You are not required to give them a cell #, just a home #.

Please be careful, I find myself applying as requested online and am tempted to answer some questions like this as well. Don't do it.

As stated above, always check the name, address and phone # of the posting to verify it is legitimate. I even call the receptionist and ask to have the Hiring Managers name. I don't always get it, but at least I know, if he or she is aware of the posting, that it's legit.

Good tips MaryKay! I learned some in networking groups.

Bottom line is, if the company tries to get you to pay upfont for anyting, it is likely a scam. Just to point out, a staffing agency or temporary service can schedule an orientation, but it is usually a secession where they go over policies, whether it be theirs, or a client of theirs that they might send you to work for, but not necessarily on the day of the orientation. They might even administer a drug test, and to do this they need you to be there in person, which is not the case for any kind of background check. In fact, alot of people that are invited to attend an orientation never actually work anywhere for the agency.
The only acceptable forms of ID are a Drivers License or state issiued picture ID, and a social security card issiued by the Social Security Administration or an application for a SS card.