Pick a line of business and there will be a confidence trick associated with it. Whether it is the sly salesman conning old ladies out of their savings on their own front doorstep, or the hoax businessman offering ‘get-rich quick’ schemes to wealthy investors, there are people in the world who are all too ready to rob us of our hard-earned cash.

It is easy to think that the victims of these scams are just plain stupid, but the fact of the matter is that we all have the potential to fall for them. Conmen are often very clever, not to mention very convincing, and we all go through times when we are just not thinking quite so straight or are particularly vulnerable.

Desperation makes people careless, and when we are unemployed, or faced with being laid off from work, or even just keen to gain a hard-earned promotion, we can sometimes leave ourselves open to cruel scams which not only separate us from our money, but bring chaos into our lives.

Unemployed workers in Washington have recently been hit by a spate of confidence tricks which have left victims feeling even more hopeless than they were at the start. In one scam, classified advertisements were placed in newspapers and online, offering opportunities for people to earn extra income by working from home. Some of those who applied for the jobs as mystery shoppers were persuaded to send money by wire transfer to secure positions which, of course, did not exist.

Other hoaxes have not been designed to take money from vulnerable victims, but to facilitate the spread of computer viruses which have trashed their computers. One lady, who was trying to help her husband find work as an engineer, clicked on a link within an e-mail which supposedly connected with a website containing job announcements for people within his field. As soon as she did so, the site downloaded malicious software which infected, not just the computer that she was using, but all of the others on their home network.

While some of these scams claim to present nothing more than a chance of employment, others make outright job offers. One man received a highly plausible e-mail from a company which purported to have offices in Berlin, Latvia, France and Russia, offering him a job as a Program Manager. The recipient was asked to open and complete the forms which were attached to the e-mail, as well as to scan a copy of his passport, driver’s license, a household bill or other document which would prove his identity. Thankfully, before he got this far, the recipient began to do some online research into the company, only to find that access to their website was blocked and that the Internet turned up nothing but scam warnings.

While in some cases it can be easy to see the point of a confidence trick, in others it is not so obvious, but what all of these examples demonstrate is the need for extreme caution and vigilance. Scams designed to hurt jobseekers appear in the ‘real world’, but in addition, our reliance on modern day technology leaves us all the more vulnerable. Whether you are posting your resume on job sites or receiving e-mails as part of your networking efforts, there is an increasing need to protect yourself. Here are a few ways that you can make the most of your job search, whilst still ensuring your own safety:

1. Make sure that your computer is protected with the latest versions of anti-virus and anti-spyware software at all times.

2. Research the companies that you are sending personal information to, and never send details of your Social Security number, your driver’s license or your date of birth to anyone that you are unsure of. Also, never include these details on online resumes and be sure to use the functionality of the websites that you use to hide your contact details.

3. A genuine recruiter should never have cause to request your credit card number, your bank account number or your PIN. Never, ever give out these details over the telephone, by e-mail or in a letter or form.

4. Never click on links in e-mails unless you know the source and are 100% certain that it is legitimate. If you are unsure in any way, the safest thing to do is to type the website address into your browser.

5. Never follow up a job lead which involves sending money. No genuine employer would ever require you to do this and fraudulent wire transfers through companies such as Western Union and Moneygram are one of the most common of all scams.

6. Check out prospective employers through reliable sources such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Better Business Bureau, and be extremely wary of companies which do not have their own corporate domain, but instead use common e-mail accounts such as Yahoo!, Hotmail, MSN and Gmail.

7. Exercise extreme caution when dealing with companies which only provide a PO Box address or where their telephone number is unreachable or always goes to voicemail.

8. If you receive a telephone call from somebody purporting to be a recruiter, make sure that you get the name of the caller, the company and as many contact details as possible. Do not give out any personal information, but instead check the company out and then call them back. If the opportunity, and the organization, is genuine, they will understand your need for caution.

9. Always be suspicious of ‘get rich quick’ schemes. Anything which appears too good to be true, probably is.

And finally, if the worst comes to worst and you fear that you may have inadvertently fallen for a scam, make sure that you take action and report it immediately. Better that your pride be hurt than your bank balance!

Have you fallen prey to a confidence trickster in the course of your job search, or have you heard of any new scams in your area that other readers should be aware of? Drop me a message to let me know. It is only by being aware that we can help to look after one another.