HARRISBURG - Attorney General Tom Corbett cautioned Pennsylvania job-seekers to be extremely cautious about Internet employment offers that ask applicants to email copies of their personal credit reports.

"Credit reports contain a wealth of background information about consumers, including social security numbers, summaries of bank and credit card accounts, employment history, current and previous addresses and other details that are extremely valuable to con artists," Corbett said. "Falling for Internet job schemes can be a double threat - leaving victims unemployed and struggling to untangle a web of financial problems caused by identity theft."

Corbett noted that con artists are using Internet postings and email messages to circulate ads for high paying part-time work as personal assistants, check processors and a variety of other work-at-home positions.  The exact wording of these scams varies greatly, but all of them have common features:

• They offer "easy money" for little work. 
• Consumers work from home, rather than an office.
• It is difficult to meet your "employer" in-person, often because they travel frequently or are based overseas.
• Consumers need to respond quickly.