Fraudsters steal money and personal data pretending to be employers: how to recognize fraud

Finding a job is an important and responsible task. Now people want to work remotely and are willing to do anything to get a good job. But scammers don’t sleep either and use every opportunity to steal your money and personal data, reports check book.

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“With millions of people looking for work and so many people wanting to work from home, more scammers are ready to rip you off,” said Steven Baker, specialist in international BBB investigations, author of a new study on job search fraud.

A review of BBB Scam Tracker reports shows that scammers seem to target those aged 25-54, but older victims tend to lose more money. While the overall average loss is $1000, the average loss for those 65 and older is $2299.

Victims of job search scams may lose more than just money. They often give thieves their personal information, such as bank account information and Social Security numbers.

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This information can be used for any number of nefarious purposes, including taking over victims' accounts, opening new financial accounts, or using victims' identities for other fraud (such as obtaining fake driver's licenses or passports).

New life for an old scam

Job search fraud has been a constant problem—in good economic times and bad—but by going digital, scammers can catch more victims and do more damage.

“Scammers are now advertising jobs online and on social media or reaching out to those who have posted resumes on job boards,” Baker said.

Marie, who shared her story with the BBB, posted her resume on a freelance job board and was contacted by Adam, who said he worked for a medical company in San Francisco. After a short Skype interview, Adam hired Marie to enter data from her home for $37 an hour.

But there was a catch: Marie needed a new iPhone with special software that she could buy at a discount from the company's supplier. Adam promised that the $400 she sent through Zelle would be refunded.

The next day, when Marie was told that she also needed to buy a special monitor and laptop, she got suspicious, did some digging, and discovered that Adam was an impostor who didn't work for a medical company. The smartphone never arrived. Marie was scammed out of $400, which she sent to the scammers.

“Victims often report that they applied for jobs online, so they believe the contact was a result of that effort,” Baker said. “They often receive a quick Zoom, Skype or Google Meet interview with an impostor pretending to be an HR employee, department manager or recruiter.”

When you are “hired”—as everyone is in these types of scams—the fictitious employer will ask for a variety of personal information that will allow them to commit identity theft. A common ploy is asking for your bank account information to directly deposit your paycheck.

Job fraud is different

Fraudsters pretend to hire people for all sorts of non-existent jobs. In many cases, a "new employee" is sent a check to purchase office equipment from specific companies run by scammers. The check is fake, but the money shows up in the victim's account in a day or two, as required by federal banking law, so it looks legitimate.

Assuming the money is in his account, the new employee buys the equipment as instructed, but it never arrives. A few weeks later, when the fake check passes through the banking system and turns out to be fake, the bank returns this money from the victim's account.

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Many mystery shopping scams involve counterfeit receipts. Newly hired mystery shoppers are sent checks and asked to deposit them into their bank account and then use the money for their first outing.

One common assignment is to take most of the money and make a transfer via Western Union or MoneyGram, write a review of the process, and keep the rest of the money for yourself. Another way is to buy gift cards, provide the scammers with the numbers on the back of the cards and file a report.

At the time, the victims are unaware that they are using their own money for these secret purchases.

Some scammers use certified checks because people assume they must be real. In fact, certified checks are easy to forge.

Important! Legitimate companies employ mystery shoppers, but they never send checks or money orders, which must be used to complete the task.

The most common scam: parcel forwarding

Two-thirds of all employment scams (65%) reported by BBB Scam Tracker involve shipping goods to criminals. Victims think they got a good job at home.

Here's what's really going on: scammers who use stolen credit and debit card numbers to buy expensive items don't want packages being sent to them. If they are out of the country, as many are, US retailers will not ship to them. So, they hire people in the US to receive packages, repack them, and resend them out of the country. By doing this, even unconsciously, the intermediary becomes part of their criminal enterprise. These actions may have legal consequences.

Important! Beware of jobs that involve sending or receiving packages. Ask yourself, what legitimate company would send you packages on someone else's behalf and ask you to send them out of the country?

When you need a job you want to believe

Elana, a retired nurse living in Illinois, lost $1577 due to a job scam. It all started with a text message from Henry, who said he worked for an advertising company that would pay Elana $400 a week to drive around with a promotional film in her car. It sounded like easy money, so Elana agreed.

A few days later, Elana received a "starter check" for $1957. She deposited the check into her personal bank account, as Henry had said, and sent $1597 back via CashApp as a "refundable deposit" in case the package was damaged.

The package never arrived, and once the bank discovered the fake check that Elana unknowingly deposited, they withdrew the money from her account.

“I was furious,” Elana said. “I felt vulnerable and insulted. It's like someone came into my house and stole something."

Looking back, Elana realizes there were various warning signs. She never really spoke to Henry - all communication was through text messages. Henry would never have told her what the tape was advertising. And, she recalled, he pressured her with dozens of text messages in one day to deposit the check.

Protect yourself

It's not always easy to spot job search scams when they happen. The scammers know how to set up a trap to get you to follow their instructions. Look for these warning signs:

• Job offers appear on job boards, but not on the company website. This rarely happens. For example, Amazon, beloved by scammers, publishes all vacancies on amazon. jobs. "Do not respond to job offers from automated calls, emails, or websites that claim to be affiliated with Amazon," the company warns.
• You are contacted through non-company email domains. Remember that they can be faked. Fraudsters often use the names and titles of real people in legitimate companies.
• The interview is conducted electronically, but you never see the person conducting the interview. The scammers don't want you to see their faces, so there's always a reason why the video doesn't work on their end.
• You must pay an application or processing fee. Legitimate employers never ask you to pay to get a job.
• You must buy launch equipment from the company.
• You will be asked to provide information about your credit card.
• They send you a check or money order and ask you to deposit it and then send some of that money back to the company or its representative.
• You are asked to buy gift cards and indicate the numbers on the card.
• You need to do your due diligence before accepting a job offer, especially if you didn't have an in-person interview at the company's office. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, many interviews are conducted via video teleconferencing. Fraudsters know about it and take advantage of it.

The Federal Trade Commission warns that you can do an online search. Find the name of the company or person who hires you, as well as the words "scam", "review" or "complaint". So you can find out that they are deceiving other people.

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If all else fails, talk to someone you trust. Describe the offer and see how they react. This slows down the process - scammers are always trying to rush their victims.

If you are the victim of a job search scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the BBB Fraud Tracker. Most likely, you will not get your money back, but this is how the authorities manage to track down scammers.

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