You knew it had to happen, right? Desperate people bring the vultures out of the woodwork.  Most people know that potential employers pull your credit report as part of a background check. Well, whaddaya you know? There is a company posting fake job ads, then sending the applicants to a website to get a “free” credit report as part of the application. Hmmm, no, I don’t think so.  Take note: background checks are always done at the initiative of the potential employer, not the applicant.

We found this in the Consumerist. Apparently, a woman responded to a job ad and was sent instructions to get a “free” credit score at http://www.freecreditpage.com/Free.  If you go to this page, it is an amateurish-looking web page which tells you to “click here” for your “free” credit report and score.  Clicking on that link takes you to a real company (creditreportamerica.com) who provides you with a real credit report and a real credit score from all three credit bureaus.  However, this is just like getting your “free” credit report from freecreditreport.com,  it’s not really free.  Ok, if you sign up and then cancel before 30 days, then it is free.  If you don’t, you’re on the hook for a year’s worth of monthly charges.

So what’s the big deal?  Other than the fact that getting your report is unnecessary? What the Consumerist didn’t note  is the website owner of freecreditpage.com, by sending its “applicants” to the creditreportamerica.com site and having them sign up for a “free” report, is earning a commission each and every time.  (The affiliate ID is sent as part of the URL if you want the technical details.)  Commissions for “free” credit reports are typically $20 per application.  And that adds up in desperate times when hundreds of people may be applying for what sounds like a legitimate job.   Its’ evil genius.

To be fair, it’s not creditreportamerica.com’s fault, they an an unwitting accomplice in this scam.  It’s incredibly easy to sign up as an afflilate to programs like this.   They are probably unaware of what these guys are doing.   On second thought, maybe it is their fault for not monitoring their affiliates more carefully.

Please, don’t fall for this scam.  “Real” employers would never ask you to run your own background check or credit report.  Run immediately if you are asked to do this.  And the only place to get your free credit report is at annualcreditreport.com.

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