Between Jan. 1, 2019 and July 15, 2019 the Edmonton Police Service has received 93 reports of online employment scams with an overall loss of $240,925.83
Scammers are using advanced tactics to appear legitimate. Scammers use a ‘fake maker’ to construct a realistic online presence to help sell the scam. They create fake company websites or clone real ones, fake banks with websites, official looking employment documents like offer forms, tax forms, personal information forms, and banking deposit information forms.
The Scam:
- You post your resume on an employment website (LinkedIn, Monster, ZipRecruiter, Facebook, Indeed, Craigslist, Kijiji, or CareerBuilder) or scammer creates a job posting on one of these websites.
- Scammer contacts you with a job offer and initiates an online interview through email, video chat, or text message.
- Shortly after the interview, they award you with the job opportunity and provide a number of employment documents for you to complete so they can receive your personal and banking information.
- Once employment begins, you are told that you have to use your bank accounts to manage financial transactions until you are no longer in training. It is simply a security risk for their company to give you access to their financial accounts this early on.
- Money is transferred to you through e-transfers or a fraudulent business cheque or bank draft is delivered to your home. This money is for ‘expensive equipment and supplies’ for yourself or a client. You are asked to deposit the money immediately and send it to the ‘client’.
- You have to send the money to the ‘client’ by way of Bitcoin and Ethereum crypto currency, iTunes cards, Interact e-Transfer, vouchers purchased through Flexepin, or direct deposit into a third party bank account provided by the scammer.
- This will continue until your bank picks up on the fraudulent deposits and transactions or until you determine this job does not feel quite right. Banks proactively monitor the accounts in their financial institutions and will typically identify fraudulent activity within one or two transactions and lock down your bank account(s) or even block your mobile phone(s) so you cannot access their online banking. This is done to protect both you and the financial institution from fraudulent activity.
Online employment scammers post for a wide variety of positions, but they are primarily work from home jobs. Examples of the fake job titles include:
- Caregiver/ babysitter
- Admin assistant/ receptionist/ executive assistant/ personal assistant
- Couriers/ drivers/ shuttle driver/ chauffeur
- Elder care/ personal helper
- Mystery shopper/ secret shopper
- Pet sitter
- Customer service evaluation officer
- Book keeper
- Data clerk
- Accountant
- Cryptocurrency processing operator
- Logistics coordinator
- On vehicle decal advertising
- Sales support
- Manager
- Analyst
- Payroll manager
- Tutor
Remember: Anyone can fall victim to these scams. Scammers do this for a living and have many people helping them build their elaborate scams. They take legitimate company and employee details and incorporate them into their scheme.
Online employment websites and social media platforms are aware of these scams and continually identify and remove fraudulent profiles and job postings. The EPS also works with financial institutions and these online sites to maintain safe environments for users; however it is important for you to take the time to research the offer's validity.
Please see our website for fraud prevention tips and additional online employment scam details.
If you have been a victim of fraud, please report to police at 780-423-4567 or come into a police station. If you suspect a job posting or offer is fraud, but have not been a victim of the scam, please report it to the hosting website and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
from Media Releases https://ift.tt/2SUHbzc
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