Craigslist can be a valuable resource for finding your next trucking job — but con artists and scammers have also used Craigslist as an easy way to scam truck drivers.
If you’re looking for a new trucking job on Craigslist, here are a few tips to help you make sure that the listing is legitimate.
1. If the ad asks for personal info like your birthdate or a credit card number, stop there.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If an ad offers an absolutely unbelievable amount of money, home time, or miles, proceed with caution.
3. If the ad is formatted oddly, this is a red flag. Almost all legitimate trucking jobs have a certain look — varying font sizes, with bigger type up top and smaller font as you scroll down. They usually use bold type, some words in all caps, and bulleted lists to highlight the job’s features and benefits. If you come across a job listing that doesn’t look like the others, you might want to keep looking.
4. The ad is full of grammatical errors, proceed with caution. Spelling errors, missing punctuation, and improper grammar are all signs that the Craigslist ad could be phony.
5. The ad seems to be written by someone who doesn’t understand English very well. Even if there’s nothing technically wrong with the grammar, if if seems like the listing was written by someone who doesn’t speak English well, it may well have been created by a $2 per hour oversees freelance writer.
6. The email address doesn’t seem to match a trucking company. If you’re asked to respond to an email address like [email protected], the listing is suspicious. Real trucking companies will use their names in their email addresses. Even pro recruiters will use a legitimate sounding email address.
7. The ad seems to just want you to click it. A legitimate job listing will have most of the info you need directly in the ad. If the ad is vague and you are asked to click for more information, your click is probably all that they are after.
8. Your instincts tell you that the job isn’t for real. If you’re gut is telling you that a job listing seems fake, listen to it!
Craigslist can be an amazing resource to find your next trucking job, but it isn’t always the safest option. Consider looking at trucking industry job boards instead. An ad that you find on a reputable trucking job board is much less likely to to be safe.
Sources:
Big Interview
The Daily Dot
Clue Wagon