Work From Home Scam

Tue, 26 May 2020 11:10:56 -0400
covid19, notice

During the COVID-19, unemployment numbers have been rising and more people are looking for work. Some people have unknowingly gotten involved in breaking the law. According to the article from Idaho News 6 linked below, police found thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise in a garage belonging to a homeowner who thought he was renting space to people working on a reshipping job.

The article warns that malicious actors post legitimate looking “work from home” help wanted or job openings on places like social media, message boards and even job posting sites. These ads will claim the work will be easy, pays big, and can be done from home. The malicious actor uses stolen credit cards to purchase goods and has the victim reship the items. In fact, the malicious actor is using the victim as part of a money laundering operation.

The article encourages readers to stay safe while job searching, to make sure that the employer has a readily available phone number for human resources, and has a company website. Scammers on the other hand usually will communicate through email or messenger only and are very secretive about the work, their business, and what the employee will be doing. The article also warns against paying upfront fees since malicious actors will often ask for fees for background checks or other pre-employment checks.

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