On May 16, I responded via email to a job posting for a Health Records Clerk position that was posted in the Wichita Eagle. I sent my resume to an email address. On May 17th, I received an auto reply email from the same address. The purported sender's name was listed at the top of the page: Debbie Calishaw, HR, Micro Digital Technologies. The email included links to download an application, which requested payment of $11.60 for "privileged records standards certification" and associated materials; and promised a full refund if no job offer was made.
I did a search for the company web site and found a few graphics had been loaded onto the web page, but there were no links to other pages. I emailed a reporter with the St. Louis Business Journal, who said that she had never heard of the company; that the telephone number listed appeared to be a cell phone or a newly assigned number; and the domain for the email address "clinic. La" links to a free site. I did a Google search for the email address and found the company had placed similar ads in New York and Ohio. I have notified CareerBuilder of the incident and also filed an online complaint with the National Fraud Information Center, which will forward the information to the appropriate authorities.
While I did not send any money, I am confident that some trusting, desperate job seekers probably did as the scammers anticipated. I can only hope that they did not pay with a credit card or personal check (both options were listed on the application's certification request form) because the liability could be virtually unlimited.
All jobseekers should beware of any posting that requests money with a job application. It's important to note that most Internet job sites do not screen employer postings; so it's important to do your homework. Most legitimate companies have a web site and if they don't you can find some reference to them with a Google or Nexis search.
Janet
Kansas
U.S.A.
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