Jobs
Hiring locally without the spam
FTC warnings about job fees and fake checks, and how to post real work on a city board.
CraneBoard Team · · Jobs
People hunting for work and people trying to hire are on the same board. Spam wastes both of them. The FTC's job scams page is the checklist to read before you apply, and before you write an ad that looks like those scams.
What the FTC tells applicants
Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is running a scam, the FTC says.
Do not deposit a check from a new "employer" and then send part of the money back or buy gift cards with it. The FTC says the check can bounce after the bank first shows the funds, and the bank can ask you to repay the full amount.
Search the company or the person's name with the words scam, review, or complaint. No complaints is not proof the offer is honest. Complaints are a reason to stop.
The FTC points job seekers to USAJobs.gov for federal openings, to CareerOneStop, which the U.S. Department of Labor sponsors, and to usps.com/employment for postal work. It says information about federal and postal jobs is free, and applying is free.
If you paid a scammer, the FTC says to contact the company you used to send the money and ask whether the payment can be reversed, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How to post work on CraneBoard
Name the city, the tasks, and whether the work is on site. Do not promise income. Do not ask the applicant for a fee, a kit, or a "registration" payment. Do not ask them to receive packages and ship them on. The FTC describes that reshipping pattern as part of a scam, not a job.
One post belongs on the board where the work happens. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, and Plano share the Dallas-Fort Worth board. Houston has its own board. So do Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City.
A CraneBoard ID verified badge means the account passed a document and selfie check. It does not mean the job is real or that the pay will arrive. Applicants should still use the FTC checks. Employers should still describe the work in plain words.
The community guidelines say the same thing in shorter form. When the shift is real, post a listing in Jobs.