By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation

Job seekers beware. Scammers are after your money and your personal information.

The Better Business Bureau has reported an increase in employment scams as the holiday season approaches and more people seek temporary jobs to bring in extra cash.

Since January, North Americans have reported 3,465 employment scams such as fake job postings, recruiter emails and work-at-home schemes, with more than $3 million lost, according to the Better Business Bureau. That’s nearly twice as many scams as last year between January and October.

Twenty-seven of those were reported by Oregonians who lost $57,480 this year, according to KTVZ.com news.

Here is how a fake Amazon job scam worked according to an Indiana TV News station:

“A fake HR rep finds victims online, claiming to be hiring people to post product reviews. They say the position pays up to $6,000 per month, and you can work from home. But new employees have to purchase a $200 “enrollment fee” before they can start.You pay up, the scammer vanishes.”

To help job seekers avoid scams, Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific identified the following red flags:

• Positions that require little or no training, such as work-from-home and secret shopper positions and those with generic titles;
  • Vague company descriptions without identification of the owner, headquarters or products;
  • No interview or job application required, or only online chat interviews;
  • Job applications requiring a fee; and
  • Recruiters who refuse to disclose information, costs, and contracts.

Anyone who has been the victim of an employment scam should file a report at BBB.org/ScamTracker.