The scammers will often go to elaborate lengths to make their scam look legitimate. They will build websites for their fake company and in some cases will even make a fake job website that they can offer their job on. I recently received one that the scammers had copied a well-known job website and then got a similar sounding domain name and put their job as the only job on the site. The scammers must be making a lot of money or plan on making a lot of money if they put that much effort into their scam.

How Does it Work, and How Are the Scammers Paid?

When the victim applies for the online job, they are sent an email describing the details. They are told that the company takes a lot of orders for products in the victim's country, but as they don't have a bank account in that country they can't cash the checks. The victim is told that his or her pay is taken out as a percentage of the cashed checks. For example if the check is for 1000 dollars, the victim gets to take out 100 dollars for themselves.

Normally the checks are for a lot more; they are just enough to make it profitable for the scammer, yet small enough to stay under the radar of the bank. The checks are professionally forged, probably in Europe or Africa. They are printed on real check paper and made to look very real. So real in fact that the bank tellers can not normally tell they are fake.

When the victim cashes the checks, the checks will initially clear. This tricks the victim into a false sense of security. The scammer will always get impatient now. The scammers know this is the risky time for them as they only have a matter of hours (sometimes days) before the checks will be found out to be fake. The scammer needs to get the money sent to them before this happens, so they go into overdrive pestering the victim to send the money via Western Union to them.

If the victim does fall for this trick, they will send the scammer the cash by wire. In a few days time, after the bank has done final computer research on the check, it will bounce, leaving the victim in trouble with the bank and a huge bill of thousands to pay back.

How Can I Tell if It's a Scam?

Picking a scam cannot be as easy as some make out. When these scammers advertise on real job sites and in the newspapers, they will tend to attract many innocent victims.

When you do receive an email offering you a job, just ignore it. No legitimate company would ever send out emails to strangers offering them employment. Legitimate companies would never need to do that sort of thing when they can find people easier other ways.

If you do apply for a job and cashing checks or Western Union is mentioned, you should start asking questions. Ask your future employer why they can't accept checks themselves. It is completely false that a company needs to have a bank account in the country the check was issued. Banks from all over the world will honor checks from all over the world. If the company says otherwise, they are either lying or not a professional company.

These scammers don't really know much about employing people and the legal implications involved in employing new staff. Always ask about payroll tax and how this tax is paid. Ask for a proper contract and tell them you will get your lawyer to read it. If the company shies away from this or can't give you a good explanation about how you're supposed to pay tax, they are most likely a scam.

Strange names or people located in Africa or in Europe with African names can also be a tip towards a scam. This may sound racist, but it's a fact. At least 80 percent of these scams are run by Nigerians. If the people have strange sounding names or African sounding names, you can be 99.9 percent sure that it will be a scam. This is unfortunate really, as it tars the law-abiding people in Africa with these dodgy scammers.

Reporting a scam

If you come across a scam and want to try your luck at reporting it, the first thing to remember is not to reply to the scammer. Replying to a scammer will give them information about you, and when their scam fails they may trace you down and blame you.

If the scammers are using a domain name similar to an existing company and or have copied a website of an existing company, you should contact that company immediately to warn them. These big companies have teams of lawyers and experts that can have the scam shut down a lot faster then the average internet user could.

If you find that a scammer has advertised on a real website or a newspaper, it is important that you contact the website or newspaper to let them know. The newspaper or website may find that the scammer has ripped them off with a stolen credit card or with a fake check, so they will be grateful for this warning. It also protects others from falling victim to the scam.