Ebay classifieds, together with the police crime prevention, wants to protect job seekers from “supposedly lucrative additional income opportunities”.
Ebay classifieds has started a cooperation with the police crime prevention of the federal states and the federal government to warn users of dubious job offers and “supposedly lucrative additional income opportunities”. In job exchanges, on websites and via e-mail, perpetrators want to use pretexts to get their victims’ bank information.
The victims should be convinced with “best earning potential, flexible working hours and less work” without any qualifications. In fact, the perpetrators want to get the personal data of the job seekers. Users are asked to open a bank account for “test purposes” or to “verify” their own information. The scammers then use the account for criminal activities.
Identity theft puts job seekers at risk
Another method used by criminals is to provide an existing bank account for transactions. Payments then go into the account, which the victims are usually supposed to transfer to accounts abroad. They may then keep a small part of the sum. In some cases, the scam goes so far that the criminals commit identity theft and offer goods on behalf of job seekers that are not subsequently delivered. As a consequence, mini-jobbers face criminal charges for fraud or suspected money laundering.
Job advertisements should draw attention to Masche
In order to prevent fraud, the police crime prevention and Ebay classifieds warn nationwide with job advertisements. These look similar to the scammers’ ads, but warn of the scam and provide information. The offers were published in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich, among others, on the online classifieds market in areas with many residents. Within a week, the ads already had more than 5,000 views. Anyone who finds ads suspicious can use the “Report ad” function for classified ads.
Police focus on prevention
“We recommend job seekers not to be blinded by lucrative offers and to carefully examine each advertisement. Does the company that published an advertisement really exist? Is the work order serious, meaningful and logical? Is the job paid appropriately or conspicuously generously “Basically, the more tempting an offer is, the more suspicious you should be,” says Harald Schmidt, Managing Director of the state and federal police crime prevention department.
The Federal Criminal Police Office offers an overview of online guards where reports can be filed. The police crime prevention website provides information on scams and security tips, such as not sharing sensitive data with strangers.
(mack)
