Conn. (WTNH) — As you search for a new job, we are Stretching Your Dollar with the way criminals are trying to trick job-seekers.

While a phone call may sound real, experts said these calls are not real requests.

In a new report from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), employment scams are listed as the second riskiest of all the scams they track, saying the frequency at which they are reported in the agency’s scam tracker increased 23% from 2021 to 2022.

“A lot of workers don’t want to go back to an office, so they’re searching online for a purely remote position,” Melanie McGovern, spokesperson for BBB, said. “Unfortunately, scammers know this, so they’re setting up fake websites and they’re luring people in with that.”

Callie, for example, applied for a tech job through LinkedIn. She said they liked her resume and her application and wanted to move the process along. However, the people who posted the job were suspected scammers who were not affiliated with the actual tech company or LinkedIn.

They offered her the job and sent her a check to purchase her own office equipment, but then asked a lot of questions.

“I gave them my bank account information so my routing number, my account number, my checking account,” Callie said. “I did checking and then I gave them the front and back of my driver’s license.”

Thankfully, she didn’t lose money.

“If a company is asking you to pay for something during the interview process, that is a huge red flag,” Catherine Fisher of LinkedIn said.

Sadly, Miranda Owens wasn’t as lucky. The person that offered her a job sent her a check, then said they made a mistake and she needed to return the money. The check bounced and Owens was out nearly $5,000.

“I just started bawling,” Owens said.

Especially for these remote job offers, you want to be especially careful not to hand over your information until you’ve had the chance to make a personal connection with someone and can confirm the position is real.