I-Team 10 investigation: Alert for job seekers

Posted at: 12/03/2009 3:08 PM | Updated at: 12/03/2009 6:57 PM
By: Brett Davidsen | WHEC.com

An I-Team 10 alert for job seekers.

In this difficult economy, scam artists are taking advantage of those looking for work. Now scammers are using a popular airline’s name to try to steal your identity.

Annalisa DeMarta of Henrietta was looking for a job when she came upon a posting on Craigslist. It was for a position as a reservations agent with JetBlue airlines in Rochester. “The job immediately appealed to me and I sent a cover letter, resume and a couple days later I received a response saying they wanted to set up an interview and attached was their application."

The application she was told to fill out and return by email or fax looks legitimate with JetBlue’s logo asking for a lot of background information. If you look closely (view application), you can see a telltale sign this is a scam.

The application asks for her social security number. DeMarta was suspicious of the job posting but sent the application anyway. However, she left the social security number blank. “I trusted my gut and I said if the interview goes great I'll be more than glad to give it to them at the time of the interview."

I-Team 10 showed the application to former assistant attorney general and consumer advocate, Carlos Rodriguez. “I went on the JetBlue website, the legitimate website, to see whether this application, the one that the scammer sent, was the same one. And as you can see from this one, it's not."

Rodriguez says filling in all the blanks gives the thieves everything they need to open new credit accounts in your name. “They take advantage of a situation. People are out of work, looking for work, and here we fall vulnerable to these bogus ads."

JetBlue tells I-Team 10 it is aware of the scam using its name and is working with local and federal authorities to put a stop to it. In a statement emailed to I-Team 10, the airline says, “We are very disappointed that someone is using JetBlue’s name for their own gain and innocent job hunters are being taken advantage of." 

In the meantime, DeMarta has contacted authorities, put a fraud alert on her credit report, and posted a warning to other job seekers on Craigslist. “I guess moving forward, first you've got to trust your instincts and not be so desperate and quick to give out that information."

JetBlue says it never uses Craigslist to accept job applications. The airline has included an alert on its website as an added security measure.

Experts say in most cases you shouldn't have to provide your social security number during the initial stages of a job application process.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.

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