This image was lost some time after publication.

With so many unemployed people searching for jobs, you'd think that there would be some clever way of exploiting their desperation for financial gain, right? Actually, there are many ways, the Journal reports today. Seemingly legitimate job ads can lead to nothing more than a sales pitch for an expensive career service. Filling out a series of job applications forms on the internet might earn you an ad for an online university.

Then there are the elaborate phishing schemes, posing as career opportunites, that lure hopefuls into email correspondence in order to steal their personal information. Worst of all, though, are the job ads touting huge salaries for fabulous jobs that were filled moments before you sit down with the recruiter, who just happens to have a much crappier, more poorly-paid job to fill. Still, we'll take consolation from the fact that all the recruiters will probably be jobless themselves soon enough.

It Isn't Always a Job Behind an Online Job Posting [WSJ]