Employment fraud
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Employment fraud is the attempt to defraud people seeking
employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
by giving them false hope of better employment, offering better working hours, more respectable tasks, future opportunities, or higher
wage A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remuner ...
s. They often advertise at the same locations as genuine employers and may ask for money in exchange for the opportunity to apply for a job.


Types of fraud


Recruitment agent fraud

Fraud is committed by recruiters when the profit margin is increased through misrepresentation. They try to convince candidates, contractors, or consultants that their skill set is beneath the wage they are seeking. On the other end, they try to convince the employer that there is no candidate on the market for the hourly rate the recruiter is offering. It is the misrepresentation that renders it fraudulent. This type of fraud is widespread in countries like the United Kingdom, where due to law enforcement agencies being negligent, jury trials not being mandatory or not even existing at all, and due to corruption, it is impossible to enforce the law through private prosecution or civil remedies.


Recruitment fraud

This type of fraud involves a person misrepresenting themselves as an employee of a particular company and acting on its behalf to offer a fictitious job opportunity. This type of fraud is generally conducted through the internet utilizing tactics that include false social media advertising and the creation of fake websites.


Advertising fraud

Any advertising or
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
that misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of goods or services, including activity that may induce a person to become a victim of a crime such as
theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
, including
identity theft Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
.


Employers conspiracy fraud

This type of fraud happens when several employers conspire against a specific candidate to force them to work for a specific employer and/or to cause financial damage to this person, so they would agree to work for lesser wage than their market value or conspiring employer job ad stated salary via avoiding hiring them under different false reasons and through misrepresentation. For instance, after the whole hiring process is accomplished, the conspiring employers may say they need more time to decide and never give any decision, or after the whole hiring process is completed, the conspiring employer would state the false reason for not hiring victim candidates. It is similar to
price-fixing Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...
. This type of fraud is very difficult to prove.


Types of employment scams


Mystery shopper

The victim applies to be a mystery shopper. They are asked to test a money wiring service such as
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...
and to report back on the experience. The victim receives a check and is told to withdraw the value of the check in cash. This leads them to believe the check has cleared, although the check is fake. It can take weeks to uncover the fraud. They then send the money via the wire transfer service either back to the sender or some sort of money laundering scheme.


Payment administration

The victim is asked to handle payments on behalf of an overseas company, earning a fee for every payment handled. The companies turn out to be a front for illegal activity, implicating the victim in the crime.


Guaranteed employment/income scams

The victim is guaranteed a certain income, benefits or employment. To get this they first have to buy something like a business plan, start-up materials, or software. They may be asked to pay to be put on a directory to "guarantee" jobs. This is merely a way to get the victim to spend money – no job awaits.


Multi-level marketing

People selling through a multi-level marketing scheme earn a commission on the sales of those they recruit, as well as on their direct sales. Some multi-level marketing, like
Tupperware Tupperware is an American home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home. In 1942, Earl Tupper developed his first bell-shaped container; the brand products were introduced to the public in 1 ...
, can be legitimate businesses. However, some multi-level marketing schemes are
pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly im ...
s in disguise. The products may be of poor quality, overpriced, and hard to sell, or the victim may be asked to spend heavily on useless training materials. Some multi-level marketing schemes may require money from the victim to join.


Visa/work permits

A prospective
employer Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
overseas says that it will handle the victim's work visa application but instructs the victim to send money in the guise of processing fees. The scammer takes the money and vanishes.


International Trade

Crime and fraud are an increasing threat to businesses that operate within the international trade sector. Fraud is defined as deceit for financial profit, and it costs the UK an estimated £110 billion annually. The main threat to international traders is from organized crime, including the theft of goods or business identity, cross-border crime, and road-freight crime. Other risks include infringement of intellectual property or employee fraud. Online trading developed a new platform for criminal activity, such as new ways of laundering money. Businesses that do international trade under the EU can rely on shared laws and commercial procedures to protect them.


See also

*
Work-at-home scheme A work-at-home scheme is a get-rich-quick scam in which a victim is lured by an offer to be employed at home, very often doing some simple task in a minimal amount of time with a large amount of income that far exceeds the market rate for the ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Employment Fraud Fraud Crimes