Young people looking for employment, beware of scam offers. Among the folds of the ads there is a vastness of offers that are not exactly clear. On the contrary. And an exact map, which locates 12 types of scam operations comes from the “Safe Work” project co-financed by the Ministry of Labor e result of the survey by Adiconsum and Movimento Difesa del Citizen.
The unemployment emergency was further confirmed by the latest data provided by INPS: in 2012, 1.558.471 unemployment applications were received by the Social Security Institute, with an increase of 14,26% on 2011 (1.363.979 applications). In Italy the number of unemployed has now reached the threshold of 3 million (precisely 2 million 875 thousand). On an annual basis, unemployment grows by 19,7% (+474 thousand units), the increase affects both the male and female components. The unemployment rate stood at 11,2%, up by 0,1 percentage points compared to November and by 1,8 points over twelve months.
But if Italy cries, Europe certainly does not laugh: Eurozone unemployment hits record level of 11,4%, the highest ever reached so far. Eurostat estimates that there are a total of 25 million unemployed. A datum strongly influenced by Greek and Spanish data, in which the level of the unemployed is respectively equal to 25,1% and 24,4%.
And young people, looking for a job, have to contend not only with the difficulties but also with the scam job offers. Among the announcements there are 12 types that could hide fraudulent operations. Here they are: home working, door-to-door sales, paid telephone services, database registrations, training courses, scholarships, the creation of photo books, participating associations, false periods of proof, money transfer, chain letters and pyramid marketing, documents to sign.
Common denominators of these scams are: false promises of work for the payment of money or poor quality training courses advertised as free, except for the request for the payment of sums for the continuation of the lessons.
But how to defend yourself, how to protect yourself to avoid taking the bait of false job offers? Adiconsum and Citizen Defense Movement have developed a real decalogue: 1) remember that reliable companies do not hide anything: they immediately describe the job offered, the requirements and the compensation. They do read and sign a contract before starting any sort of business 2) remember that a serious company that offers you an occupation (in the office or from home), will certainly want to see your curriculum vitae and your references first. 3) when an offer sounds too good to be true, it's probably fake. 4) Be wary of companies that do not indicate their company name and VAT number. 5) Search online – for example in the Business Register of the Chamber of Commerce or on the website of the Revenue Agency – to verify the reliability of the proposing company. 6) Be wary of companies that ask you for economic contributions in order to start the employment relationship. 7) Do not purchase kits or materials of any kind necessary for starting a home business. 8) Be wary of those who ask you to provide personal data, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers with the promise of contacting you: often these are only chain letters. 9) Always take all the time necessary to reflect and verify the validity and authenticity of the offer. Be wary of those in a hurry to get you done. 10) Do not enroll in courses or job training at your own expense. It is usually the hiring company that bears the cost of employee training. In the rare cases in which the course is charged to the worker, the consideration does not have to be paid in advance, but will be deducted from the first salary.
