Searching for an online job can be a treacherous activity, especially with the prevalence of all the scams out there. We’ve all seen the “too good to be true” business opportunities advertised on job boards, along with job scams, job ads, and other job junk. It’s likely you’ve heard (and hopefully not experienced first hand!) the horror stories of well-meaning job seekers who have been the victim of identity theft from responding to online job scam emails.

However, there are ways to protect yourself from the aggressive scammers and online job fraud schemes. Here are five simple rules to keep in mind when searching for an online job:

1. Check out the employer’s company website.

Any legitimate company is going to have an established website. But don’t let the existence of a website fool you. Actually look through the site to see how it looks, if there is actual contact information provided and if you can find anything out about the company by doing a quick Internet search or reviewing posts on community forums.

2. Google the employer.

Using Google, type the employer’s name followed by “scam” in and see what comes up. Oftentimes, if a company has scammed anyone or has been reported by job seekers as a scam, you will find multiple hits. Read through these postings to determine if you want to risk applying for the job or not.

3. Consult with the BBB.

An excellent resource for job seekers is to visit the Better Business Bureau (BBB) online at www.bbb.org where you can find a ton of information about companies doing business online. If a company doesn’t have a listing nor has a negative rating, be very hesitant about providing any personal information or avoid applying for s job there.

4. Use a job service that screens out scams.

Believe it or not, there are companies that actually will do the legwork for you, which can be a huge time-saver and give you peace of mind so you won’t have to worry about scams. These services typically charge a fee for their service, so remember to consult with the BBB to make sure the service you look at is legitimate. If you’re not familiar with these types of services, check out FlexJobs.com at www.flexjobs.com as a great example. FlexJobs has a research team hand-screen all jobs and companies, and then they provide only the top quality telecommuting and flexible job leads.

5. Report scammers promptly.

As you conduct your job search, help the FBI stop online criminals by reporting obvious scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is run in coordination with the FBI website found at www.ic3.gov. The FBI works hard to eradicate the Internet from scammers.

These are great ways to take steps towards protecting yourself. Keep them in mind to help make your job search one that ends in success — and not further headaches.

Author Bio: Co-written by FlexJobs.com staff, Tess Taylor and Sara Sutton Fell. Sara is CEO of FlexJobs, a job site for telecommuting and flexible jobs, and has been featured in national media such as CNN, Yahoo! Finance, Forbes.com, and many others as an expert in the online and telecommuting job markets.

Category: Jobs
Keywords: job, employment, find a job, online job scam, avoid online job scam, legitimate job, online job