BBB job scam losses on the rise

In the first three months of 2023 the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker has reported job scam losses of $840,000.

Wes Lafortune, the manager of communications and media for the southern Alberta BBB highlighted a few of the key findings of the reports.

“What we found at Better Business Bureau is quite a sharp increase in reports to our site, which is Scam Tracker, which tracks scams across North America. And that was, as you said, about a 250 per cent increase. The loss was nearly a million dollars just for the first three months of the year. I always mention this when I talk about scams and fraud, but basically about only five per cent of people actually make reports.”

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 11,435 reports were made, totaling $22.2 million dollars in losses from March 2020 through 2023.

BBB tips for job seekers:

• Research companies offering jobs at BBB.org.
• Find a number on the business’ website and call to confirm the job or offer is real.
• Check the email address to ensure that it is connected to the company and not a personal email address.
• Be cautious providing personal information to unverified recruiters and online applications.
• Never pay for a job.