You've been thinking about working on a cruise ship for quite a while, and recently you came across an advertisement in your local newspaper for "a great position aboard a luxury cruise liner".

It sounds perfect!

You called the number provided and, after emailing your application or resume and participating in a brief telephone interview, you've been told you have the position.

You're pretty sure that the offer is legitimate. After all, it was publicized in a reputable newspaper. The person on the phone sounded very professional and asked all the right questions. They even talked about pay, benefits and life onboard.

Surely this is the opportunity of a lifetime...

All you have to do is wire a few hundred dollars to 'register' with the agency offering you the job.

Unfortunately, once the money has been wired, you find that the "employment agency" no longer returns your calls or emails. You may even find that the phone number has been disconnected with no forwarding information left. When you contact the cruise line directly, you find that the company has never even heard of the agency you spoke to.

Your dream job onboard the cruise ship does not exist. You've been the victim of a cruise job scam.

Anyone who has ever hunted for a job on a cruise ship will probably tell you that it can often be a long and frustrating process.

In fact, sometimes looking for ship jobs can seem to take more effort than actually working on one! That's why people tend to jump at any opportunity when the "perfect job" comes along.

Unfortunately, less than scrupulous individuals have come up with a way to take advantage of those seeking employment on cruise ships.

Although this scam could apply to any type of job, the "cruise ship job" scam is one of the most frequent - partly because of the desirability element attached to working on a luxury cruise liner and partly because it can be a difficult industry to break into.

When the job of a lifetime comes along, it's only natural to want to take every possible step to quickly secure the position. But when you are asked by an actual employment agency to provide funds in advance, you should always take the time to do some extra homework and make sure the person or agency you are dealing with is legitimate.

The key is this; scam artists will always require some type of payment before employment can take place. It might be for uniforms or shoes. It could be an "application fee" or a fee for somekind of security screening or 'required' documents.

Below are a few ideas for avoiding a typical cruise ship job scam:

Fortunately there are plenty of legitimate cruise line employment agencies who provide a great service. But the following article reveals the names of some of the companies that you should definitely avoid:

http://www.workoncruiseships.com/public/503.cfm