In early 2000, an out-of-work blue collar worker in the Chicago area answered a promising help wanted advertisement he saw in the classified section of a small local paper. The U.S. Postal Service, the ad said, was planning to hire workers soon at annual salaries of $60,000 to $70,000. And for just $40, the advertiser could help job seekers earn top scores on the postal exam applicants are required to take.
“They gave these glorious [salary] figures and implied they could give people who answered the ad an edge in getting a postal job,” says Steve Bernas, director of operations at the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois.
“This worker put the money forward because he thought they were going to help him take the test. He thought they were affiliated with the government. But all he got was a basic information book with information he either already knew or could have gotten elsewhere for free.”
Realizing he’d lost $40 and was no closer to getting a job, the worker filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
That complaint was just one of 10 to 20 Bernas says his office gets each month about fraudulent ads for postal service and other government jobs.
“Over the last 13 years, I’d say the number of complaints has decreased, but the problem is still prevalent,” Bernas says. “I see the ads; they’re always out here in classified sections, in coupon mailers. These people are great marketers, great con artists.”
And the problem isn’t limited to Illinois.
“Each year, scam artists who run classified ads for employment opportunities with government agencies and the U.S. Postal Service bilk unwary consumers out of millions of dollars,” says Donna Miles, spokesperson for the Office of Consumer and Business Education at the Federal Trade Commission.
The ads offer to help job seekers find, apply for and land high-paying federal jobs. To better snag unsuspecting consumers, the companies sometimes use names like the U.S. Agency for Career Advancement or the Postal Employment Service that sound like names of federal agencies, the FTC says.
In a recent example, Federal Data Service, Inc. of Margate, Fla., placed ads in newspapers nationwide charging $46 to $80 to provide lists of available Postal Service and federal wildlife jobs, information on when and where required exams would take place, and practice tests to prepare for the exams.
The company also falsely promised full refunds if consumers didn’t land a job, and allegedly charged or debited consumers’ credit cards, debit cards or checking accounts without consent, the FTC charged.
A federal district court issued a temporary restraining order against the company in April.
“These companies typically charge $39.95 plus $5 shipping and handling; it’s usually about $50 or a little bit less,” says Gregory Ashe, staff attorney for the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC.
That price, he notes, is affordable for consumers attracted to such ads. “The audience that tends to look at these ads likely has no college education,” says Bernas. “So the jobs look like excellent opportunities. They could be very lucrative careers.”
The fees, too, are low enough that many job seekers don’t complain when they realize they’ve been duped.
“For every Better Business Bureau complaint, there are probably five or six consumers who say, `Ah, $50. Live and learn. It’s not worth it to file a complaint,'” Ashe says.
Things have improved since the FTC started working on the problem in 1997. Some “major players” were shut down as a result of lawsuits the FTC and the Postal Service filed in 1998, Ashe notes. But other companies have popped up to fill the vacuum, he says.
“There’s a new round of companies that learned from the federal court actions,” reports Ashe, who explains that the Postal Service and the FTC sued the advertisers on grounds of misrepresentation of an affiliation with the Postal Service, misrepresentation of available jobs and misrepresentation of the likelihood of being hired.
“They’ve scaled back on representing themselves as the Postal Service; they’ll admit they’re telemarketers or a private company,” he continues. “And there aren’t as many promises of helping people with their [exam] scores, though some still do make that promise. These fraudulent cottage industries know what’s going on and are becoming more and more subtle. They’re getting closer to the line of what you can and cannot do.”
And they’re banking a lot of money in the process. The FTC estimates Federal Data Service made $3.5 million a year. “And there are others we just haven’t been able to get at,” says Ashe. “We estimate [some of the companies] make up to $5 million a year in gross sales. But none of them ever shows a profit on their tax returns.”
As companies that fraudulently advertise postal service and federal job opportunities become more clever, it’s more important than ever for consumers to beware of scam employment ads. The FTC and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management say job seekers can avoid falling for scams if they watch out for:
– Classified ads or verbal sales pitches that imply an affiliation with the federal government, guarantee high test scores or jobs or state that “no experience is necessary.”
– Ads that offer information about “hidden” or unadvertised federal jobs.
– Ads that refer to a toll-free number. Often, in these cases, an operator encourages you to buy a valuable booklet containing job listings, practice test questions and tips for entrance exams;
– Toll-free numbers that direct you to other pay-per-call numbers for more information. Under federal law, any solicitations for pay-per-call numbers must contain full disclosures about cost. Also, the solicitation must make clear if there is an affiliation with the federal government. You must have a chance to hang up before you incur any charges.
In addition, consumers should know these facts about job opportunities with the U.S. Postal Service and the federal government, an FTC Consumer Alert says:
– Information about job vacancies is available free.
– Federal agencies and the U.S. Postal Service never charge application fees, or guarantee that an applicant will be hired.
– If positions require a competitive examination — and many do not — hiring agencies typically offer free sample questions to consumers who sign up for the exam;
– It is deceptive for anyone to guarantee you a high score on Test 470 (the Postal Service exam). It is a general aptitude test, not a test of knowledge, and reviewing practice questions, attending workshops or studying exam techniques will not assure you of a top score.
If you think you’ve been the victim of a federal or postal job scam, or have concerns about an ad you’ve seen, contact the FTC at 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357) or www.ftc.gov.
You also can contact the local office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 312-669-5663, the local BBB office at 312-832-0500 or the Illinois attorney general’s office at 800-386-5438.
Federal job information is available through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s USAJOBS information system. In Chicago call 312-353-6192.
Job information also is available online at www.usajobs.opm.gov.
Information on postal jobs also can be found at your local post office. Or you can check the Postal Service Web site at www.usps.gov.
