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THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday April 5 1991 rage 27 Job scams target the most vulnerable With higher unemployment rates many people in Ontario are looking for new jobs If youre scanning the want ads in newspapers and magazines v e from Ontarios Consumer Ministry can help you spot fraudulent or misleading job of fers Though sales pitches vary job scams all have one thing in com mon Sadly they target those who cant afford to lose savings They aim at taking money from PLUMBING SUPPLIES Acrylic Bath Shower Units Whirlpools Spas Pedestals Vanities Medicine Cabinets 7987786 PLUMBING SHOWROOM Avb Georgetown unsuspecting people looking for work Jobhunters should be wary of advertisements offering positions in locations or foreign countries says Marilyn Gurev- sky of the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations Ads promising large quick profits through workathome plans should also be suspect she says And if a prospective employer asks for money a war ning bell should sound in the job- HERMANS hunters mind Often these schemes sound like great opportunities But many are scams providing jobs and money only for the scam artists When times are good the ministrys Consumer Services Bureau report only one or two phone calls per month from peo ple whove lost money in employ ment scams But with the jobless rate on the rise dishonest pro moters are making big profits by taking advantage of the increas- SIDING SOFFITS FASCIA ALUMINUM ft VINYL INCH SEAMLESS SHUTTERS WINDOWS DOORS ASPHALT SHINGLE ROOFtNQ YEAR WRITTEN GUARANTEE OR Join the new generation hi home cleaning with anew Central Vacuum System It can be easily installed Into new and existing homes Foi ull second level 1206 square feet AMLY CUSTOM HOMES All Phases of General Contracting Complete Homes or Basement Frame Package Labour Alt Material Supplied 8736104 PLEASE LEAVE MESSAGE TUGA FORMING ltd COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL 1 Concrete 1 Custom Homos OurSpoaolty Archie Duiker CURTIS EVANS PAINTING WALLPAPERING phone 8730707 HERWYNEN SAWMILL Bruce WESTERN CEDAR 8561180 Sen Yellow Pago No VICTORS GLASS ENCLOSURES Solanums Sunrooms Pool Enclosures Entrances i 8731258 LANGILLE WELL DRILLING 5 Diameter Cob In Drilling Pump Sales Service 8778329 of IDREAMSCAPEusp LANDSCAPING SINCE 1468 Driveways Ratios Decks Pruning Interlocking And Much More 8779591 MOBILE No ROBERT FREESTONE CONSTRUCTION LTD Residential Commercial Protects To Your Specifications or Ours 8772698 ing number of people looking for work Consumer agencies are now receiving hundreds of calls about fake employment schemes Our tracking shows the cur rent situation is as bad as it has been since the last recession warns And techni ques now used to deceive the public are more sophisticated than they were in the early 1980s In one complex scheme a classified ad is place in an un- AIR CONDITIONING fcfcfr HEATIHG TERRY ROWLEY MECHANICAL INC Commercial St Milton 8781979 WATER PUMP Sales Service I SYSTEMS BOYES PLUMBING 8554232 Mounting Monthly Debts Planning Improvements To Homo Call Us Foi Your CORES WELL DRILLING 5 th Working GemraOm COMPLETE WATER SYSTEMS INSTALLED Si 8784515 milton CHI AT ION I CUSTOM Mirror Walls a Ceilings Mirror Closet Doors Sliding CONSULTATION Bobcat TRENCHING EXCAVATING POST HOLES GRADING DRIVEWAYS 8407756 Representing It lichens A Touch SHOWROOM INC mile south of ACTON 8534577 suspecting newspaper to lure candidates for jobs in foreign countries who answer are invited to interviews at a rented office frequently a hotel suite or boardroom Job seekers are led to believe theyre seeing an employer or employment agency represen tative Following the interviews all applicants are told theyve got the job Then comes the clincher theyre asked to hand over hun dreds of dollars to cover the costs of visas work permits and other arrangements Many dont realize their heads are only being hunted to add to the scam artists collection of vic tims Job seekers can be so ex cited at the prospect of moving to an exotic location they dont stop to wonder how the company has the authority to arrange for the permits which it doesnt The next day the scam artist will be gone along with the unfortunate applicants money The Australian Consul Generals Office has expressed concern about the many false of fers of Australian jobs made in this country reports he Better Business Bureau Anyone offered a job abroad is advised to contact the companys corporate head quarters before accepting Another workabroad gimmick is conducted entirely through the mail People are asked to write away for an information package advertised as guaranteeing a The working of the advertU ment may sug gest it was placed by an employ ment agency The price can be 2495 or MOO both have been reported with sums in between The packages frequently contain nothing more than a list of companies and in structions on how to prepare a resume The list may come from an old telephone book and many of the firms mentioned may not even be in business any longer Another type of scam involves ads for workathome plans They have taken money from people around the world for years The advertisements often tell consumers to write in for further information on how to get quick Jobs offered range from stuff ing envelopes to making han dicrafts in your spare time The envelopestuffing scheme is usually an ad placed in a newspaper telling readers they can earn to per week in their own home stuffing envelopes A person writes to the address receives a one page let ter vaguely outlining the job and tells them to send an amount of money usually and they will be on their way to making all kinds of money in their spare time What the unsuspecting con sumer usually receives back for is a halfdozen pages telling them how to place an ad in the local newspaper to inform com panies that they are available to stuff envelopes for them As with workabroad schemes the job- hunters best defence is to be wary of any offer that insists you pay money Consumers with information about a job scam are asked to help others by calling their local police station or the nearest Con sumer Services Bureau Bureau telephone numbers are listed in the telephone book Blue Pages For information on a variety of consumer topics write to the Consumer Information Centre St 1st Floor Toronto Ontario IWA 2H6 Fight Waste