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Online Jobseeker Ensnared In Scam

Careerbuilder listing leads to arrest and felony charges

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 13, 2007

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Job seekers responding to classified ads or postings on Internet jobs sites have become a favorite target for scammers. When approached with prospective employment, these victims, they have found, are often much more vulnerable.

The results can not only be financial loss, but possible criminal charges, and the legal expenses associated with defending against them. Ellen, of Elgin, Illinois, learned this the hard way.

Ellen had posted her resume on Careerbuilder.com and was pleased when she was contacted by someone who said they were with a charity called Children in Crisis, which is a real organization based in London.

“I was told it was a clerical job, and that I would be doing data entry and processing payments,” Ellen told ConsumerAffairs.com.

In her conversations with “Mr. Davidson,” Ellen said she was asked if she had a bank account. That should have been her first tip off that she was being set up for the old fake check scam.

But when she told “Mr. Davidson” she did not have a bank account, she said he was undeterred. She would receive donations in travelers checks, she was told. She would take some of the checks for her pay, convert the rest to cash and wire that money to the organization.

“I got the travelers checks by UPS the next day and I went to Best Buy to buy my daughter something with what I thought to be my earnings,” Ellen said.

Unfortunately, when she paid with two $500 travelers checks, they were instantly spotted as counterfeit. The police were called and Ellen was read her rights and led away in handcuffs.

“I was arrested in the store in front of my seven-year-old daughter and husband,” Ellen said. “I spent the night in jail. My husband had to pay $1,100.00 bond and now I am charged with a class 3 felony.”

Scammers running counterfeit check schemes often prey on job seekers, making them believe they are working for a charitable organization. Since many of these scams are run from Africa, the scammers have some familiarity with the legitimate charities operating there and make use of their good name.

The Rainbows of Hope ministry has also been impersonated by scammers in the past. It has posted a notice on its Web site that it does not solicit donations and has no salaried staff.

The lesson for Ellen and other job seekers is to be wary of job offers from organizations located outside the country, especially for positions that require little work, offer generous pay, ask you to move large sums of money through a personal bank account.

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