Con artists have kept pace with modern job-hunting trends, judging by how well they have teleported job scams once perpetrated only through printed classified ads into cyberspace. There are several online rip-offs you need to be wary of. Here are some of the most common:

Phony jobs
Modus operandi: Scammers create fake but convincing job ads that they post either on legitimate job boards or on bogus websites that mimic genuine company or job sites.

Personal invitations
Modus operandi: The crook sends an e-mail claiming to have seen your personal web pages or online resume, notes how your skills match the job requirements, and invites you to fill up an online job application.

ID checks Modus operandi: The con artist will say he needs to scan your driver’s license, passport of other means of identification to verify your identity. Or he claims to need your bank account or credit card number to run a credit check before continuing with the job application process.

Such scams, and numerous variations and versions of these, all want to fool unsuspecting and inexperienced job seekers into sending money to the perpetrators or into giving up personal information that can be used for identity theft.

To avoid being hoodwinked, remember these tips:

• Be leery of spams offering assistance in getting you a job.
• Don’t pay money upfront to anyone promising to find work for you.
• Do your own research or call up the Department of Labor and Employment hotline (02) 527-8000 if you have doubts.
• Never reveal personal data online unless you have verified the job site or company’s reputation and record, are using a secure mode for transmitting data and have read its privacy policy.
• Do not provide your bank account number so payments can be directly deposited to your account.
• Do not forward or transfer money to an employer.
• Establish a dedicated web-based e-mail account for all non-personal communication.
• Enter website addresses into your browser instead of clicking links when checking out job sources. This is to avoid being a victim of "pharming" (in which users are redirected from rightful websites to spurious replicas to steal personal details).
• Watch out for spelling errors, e-mail addresses that do not bear the company's name, and other inconsistencies.