Business ProfileforDenise Inc

BBB Scam Alert: Working from home? Beware of scams targeting at-home workers By International Association of Better Business Bureaus. March 25, 2020. To view the full article please visit: https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21844-consumer-alert-beware-of-various-scams-targeting-consumers-working-from-home BBBDelivers: BBB.org/coronavirus Advertised work from home opportunities aren't always what they seem, especially for people who have recently been furloughed or laid off. Employment scams are ranked the top riskiest scam in both the 2018 and 2019 Scam Tracker Risk Report. A common red flag to make note is the opportunity to work from home and what seems like a high hourly wage with minimal effort. However, as more employers practice social distancing and require employees to work from home, differentiating between legitimate and fraudulent job opportunities will become more difficult. While working from home and watching to see how the situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak develops, here are some tips from Better Business Bureau to avoid falling victim to scams: - Be aware of unusual procedures. Job offers without interviews are a red flag of employment scams, as well as employers that overpay and ask to wire back the difference. Take note of companies that promise opportunities or high income if you pay them for training. - Check official job postings. Scammers will often use emails, social media or online job boards to reach targets. They are also known to use actual company names, addresses and human resource contacts found on the internet. If a job posting seems too good to be true, go directly to the company website and check their career page directly. If a website is charging you for information about a job opening, it is probably a scam. - Set up work-from-home IT policies. When setting up remote employees, establish a plan to help them with technical problems they may face. Instruct them on who they should contact, and who to avoid, for tech support. A plan can protect employees, the business and your customers from having their personal and professional information compromised. - Maintain office billing policies at home. One of the best ways to combat business email compromise scams is to set a policy requiring employees to confirm payment requests in person or over the phone, rather than over email. If the employees that handle billing are working from home, have them maintain these policies by calling to confirm any payment requests made by email. - Review safety practices with employees. As employees are working remotely, remind them of the best practices to avoid scams. Practices such as avoiding clicking on pop-ups or links in unsolicited emails are encourage and if they aren't sure of the origin of an email, have them contact a colleague or supervisor by phone. Make sure they know tech support professionals would never call them unless they had requested assistance first.