Crooks are cashing in on Alberta's hot market with a new online scam, Edmonton's Better Business Bureau warns. 

The come-on? Online job sites that promise big salaries to career hunters who soon find themselves out-of-pocket or the victim of identity theft, the bureau said Monday.

Victims post their résumés to what appear to be legitimate job sites, but are actually other web addresses masquerading as these sites.

"What they really want is to clean out your bank account and steal your identity and otherwise perpetrate other frauds against you," said Chris Lawrence, head of the bureau in Edmonton.

"They are using the ruse of offering a job — very compelling in our labour market — to actually do something more."

Job seekers often come across the sites through spam e-mail or from surfing the internet. The sites look legitimate and have recognizable names, but often ask for personal information, such as a social insurance number or a copy of a driver's licence, that the real sites wouldn't seek, she said.

Bogus wire transfers

Lawrence said one scam involves offering a job interview in Alberta — a meeting that never takes place.

"They'll legitimately suggest that they'll transfer or wire money into your account, purportedly so you can fly out and meet with a prospective employer," she said.

"All of these wire transfers are bogus. Often they'll ask for you to refund some of the money back and by the time that happens they're long gone and you're on the hook."

No profession appears to be immune, she said.

The scam has already targeted a wide range of professions, from IT assistants and bookkeepers to engineers, construction workers and journalists.

It's not just a problem in Alberta, she said. Canadians looking for jobs elsewhere can also be duped into thinking they've stumbled on a real job offer.

What the job offers have in common, Lawrence said, is an employer who isn't interested in meeting or interviewing the prospective employee, nor in having the candidate visit the place of business, she said.

The bureau recommends job hunters refuse any job offer that involves:

• Using your personal bank account, including forwarding money, agreeing to deposit cheques or money orders, or having money wired into your bank account.
• Paying money out of your own pocket, such as paying a fee to learn the details of a job or obtain a background check.
• Re-shipping products because it often involves stolen credit cards and victims will spend their own money on the shipping and are "reimbursed" with counterfeit cheques or money orders.
• Divulging personal information, such as birth date, social insurance number or driver's licence or passport details.

The bureau even recommends not putting personal information, even college graduation dates, in online résumés.

Lawrence said job seekers can research potential employers through the bureau, which offers the service for free.

Positions outside of North America are "typically suspect," according to bureau.

"While there are BBBs across the U.S. and Canada to help investigate businesses in North America, it is much harder to develop information on businesses located in other countries,"  the agency says.