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10/28/2009

Lexington, KY - Many people are still looking for jobs these days in a down economy. But when is an ad for a job opening not really a job offer at all?

Some excited job seekers have contacted your Better Business Bureau to tell us about advertisements they have seen in the classifieds of various newspapers or on the Internet…only to find it was just a ruse to lure them to spend money on something.

One seemed to offer openings with the U.S. postal service. A woman saw the ad on the Internet that a friend sent to her. However, when we looked up the company behind the web ad, Netspan out of Georgia, we learned from the BBB there that it's a company that sells study guides for the federal test. The ad was NOT a job offer at all, but a pitch to sell you test preparation materials. The U.S. Postal service says they'll even provide some practice questions free.

Another example sure looked promising to one job seeker. A central Kentucky medical office appeared to need a medical biller, according to the classified ad. But when we plugged the phone number into the BBB Internet, up came a report on a company called "Homes X".

The California BBB has given this company an F rating due to unanswered complaints, mainly about the offer not leading to work, and cost people $200 each. The company is classified as a medical biller business opportunity offer…again, not an actual offer of employment.

Check out job offers carefully with your BBB, especially if something seems not quite right. If you are asked to pay to work for someone, don't fall for it.

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Be a "Don’t Fall for It!" informant! If you have something to share you believe may be a fraudulent offer or scam, please let the BBB know! Call us at (859) 259-1008 or toll-free, 1-800-866-6668, or email us at info@lexbbb.com.