PT Barnum, a famous American businessman, politician and showman of the 19th century, is quoted for once saying, a sucker is born every minute. I would say we are all suckers because I don’t believe that there is anyone in the history of the world who has not been scammed. This is not because we are not smart or were not paying attention. Rather, I believe it is exactly because we are smart and we are paying attention.
A colleague of mine lost money to a potential job offer. He saw the offer, clicked to read more but when he didn’t see any details he closed it. But then they sent him a follow up, and then another, and another and before he knew it, he paid the initial fee, and they disappeared. Why was he scammed? Because we want what we want and sometimes our heart takes over even though our brain is fully engaged.
Everyone of us wants a good life. We want a better job, one that pays well, and one we can boast about. Especially young people, graduates and so on. And job scammers know this and they play on this. A job scam is someone somewhere lying to get your money. And now with AI, scams are getting even more intricate and complex. Scammers are smart and they are getting smarter every day. And when it comes to job scams, there are plenty a minute. They come at you in all shapes and sizes and from all angles. LinkedIn, X, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, the Internet, the News and even friendly recommendations. Here is the play.
Urgent! This international AI company is looking to set up its first of its kind branch in Africa, here in Lagos, Nigeria. We are looking for young, bright Nigerians that are ready to lead the way, take the world by storm and carve their names in the sky. Salary starts at 500, 000 Naira per month and includes housing, clothing and travel allowance.
Sounds good? Sounds great! Even I am interested. Nothing wrong with wanting the good life. In fact, you should but you have to be smart about it. You must ask, what are the requirements, what company is this, where are they located, what’s their history, what do I have to do to get this job? If you have to pay a small fee, go to a discreet location, call a number, you should be skeptical. There is a saying in Nigeria, cunny man die, cunny man bury am. The English translation would probably be, it takes a smarter man to outsmart a smart man.
And this is why we built the Job Scam Checker web tool. It’s simple and it is free. You simply paste any job offer or description into the text area, click scan and within seconds, it gives a risk score rating that tells you how high the risk of this particular job offer being a scam is. The higher the score the higher the risk.
Try it now – > Job Scam Checker
You can scan as many job offers one at a time and it will still be free each time. We do not ask for any of your personal details, not your name, your email or even your phone number. All you paste is the job offer, click scan and your report is ready in seconds. If you are not convinced that a particular job offer is a scam you can do a deeper analysis for a flat rate of 500 Naira. But you never have to fall for another job scam ever again.
For every job posting you see that you are interested in, ask questions. Is it for real? What’s the catch? Why do I have to pay to apply for the job? What’s with all the secrecy? Be curious, ask questions and be skeptical. No legitimate job offer from a reputable company will ask you to pay to apply. Why should they? They are looking for people to come and help them and they have hired and paid recruiters to help them find those people. You do not have to pay any recruiters again.If you are paying someone like an agent to help you look for a job that may be a different arrangement. But certainly not to apply for a particular job.
You can install it on your device now, and soon it will be available for download from the Google Play Store. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think. We would appreciate your feedback.
