Always trust your gut...

[prairie_girl]

Lately, I have been applying for jobs. I am only applying for remote postitions, because my days of working in a call center petri dish are over.

About a week ago, I got a reply from a company I had applied to. The job was exactly what I wanted, the pay was really good, and they checked out when I researched them online. I replied and we spent the next few days back and forth. I was officially hired and had a brief meet and greet today on a phone call.

Since I first heard from them, something wasn't sitting right, and I had a tingly feeling that it might be a scam. I felt like that every day but always managed to mostly convince myself that they were legit because they have a storefront and a website.

So, fast forward to today and the phone call. I spoke to someone who said he was the accountant with the company. He let me know that the office here would be opening soon and as my first job duty, they wanted to send a bunch of equipment to a warehouse here and then they would transfer me money to pay for all the equipment. I was born at night, but not last night. I let the trainer know I was busy for a few hours and I would let her know when I was available to continue and she wrote back and said oh, ok. I was under the impression you wanted to start right now. Let me know when you feel like you're ready. Wow, snarky much. Sounds like she knew I had caught on.

Yesterday, they sent me a direct deposit form to fill out and return to them. I did it, but used an account that only has a few dollars in it. But, right now I'm on the phone with my bank's fraud department to see if I have to cancel my card (I'm assuming I will have to).


Darn it, I wish I had listened to my gut. Just last night I said to my husband that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.



On an amazing turn of events, I have been pre approved for an HR job at Boeing. Fingers crossed that something good comes from that.


I will be calling the fraud line to report them and also reporting them to zip recruiter, which is where they found my resume.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

Well it sounds like you did your research on this company and they seemed legitimate at first. The thing about scammers and fraudsters is they are very good at what they do in convincing people they are legitimate. I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. You're taking the right steps now with your bank. Best of luck with the new job!

 

[prairie_girl]

Well it sounds like you did your research on this company and they seemed legitimate at first. The thing about scammers and fraudsters is they are very good at what they do in convincing people they are legitimate. I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. You're taking the right steps now with your bank. Best of luck with the new job!

We also have a national anti fraud centre so I reported to there as well.

 

[emmybee]

I read recently a very similar story. Unfortunately, this person was scammed out of her money and had no recourse. Because I am so old school, the thought of obtaining a job & doing all the paperwork online without having some kind of "real life contact" sounds so sketchy! Good luck, job seekers!

 

[_19disnA]

I agree sounds like a scam. Legit companies will be billed directly for equipment from the manufacturer and then pay using their accounting department, not by sending money to a personal account of one of their employees. No legit company mixes personal and business accounts for various tax reasons. Regardless of the job you were hired to perform, it seems very odd they want to use your personal account to process their funds. Sounds like some kind of money laundering scam and/or some scheme to pay a 3rd party for stolen equipment. Or they will make some excuse why they can't transfer you their funds in time to pay the bill and ask you to pay for it from your own account as a way to scam you out of money.

I would walk away from any company asking you to handle funds for them using your personal account.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and others all want to hire ME!!!

Maybe I should open one of those e-mails.

 

[nene0182]

Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and others all want to hire ME!!!

Maybe I should open one of those e-mails.

Lucky! I only get Amazon requests! But at least they are for a second interview. Considering I’ve never had a first interview, I just take it to mean that I’m so great we can skip that step.

Sorry you were scammed OP. I imagine it’s pretty frustrating, but it looks as though you have done everything right. Some people just suck.

 

[LuvOrlando]

So sad this happened to you but smart thinking to use a less used account. Glad it ended well but it must be staggeringly demoralizing for people who desperately need work, the hope must be hard to put into perspective Uggh, breaks my heart just thinking about the damage it could do. Because how things are now I directed my kids to also have 2 checking accounts, like you, so one is a buffer for deposits bank card and more external transactions and another one that is sectioned off for safety. I'm going to share your experience as a use case, thank you so much for sharing.

 

[Her Dotness]

Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and others all want to hire ME!!!

Maybe I should open one of those e-mails.

Yup, I'm definitely old.

I only get emails wanting to sell me burial insurance or walk-in bathtubs.

And so inconvenient that I have to check my spam folder to find them.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Good luck on the job with Boing!

 

[prairie_girl]

Good luck on the job with Boing!

Thank you. It’s really quite amazing that it just fell into my lap. I hope to hear in the next week, but it sounds very promising.

 

[ronandannette]

Good luck on the job with Boing!

Thank you. It’s really quite amazing that it just fell into my lap. I hope to hear in the next week, but it sounds very promising.

Actually working at a place called Boing! sounds more fun than Boeing.

 

[GreatLakes]

Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and others all want to hire ME!!!

Maybe I should open one of those e-mails.

Yea, well a Nigerian Prince wants to be my friend and some hot Russian wants to be my wife so take that

 

[Heigh-Ho]

You did the right thing in calling your bank. I think there are jobs where you have to pay for equipment but they just tell you what to purchase and you do it, you don't involve the company in that normally. This sounded very scammy

Happy you got the other job

 

[ScottOKW2K]

they wanted to send a bunch of equipment to a warehouse here and then they would transfer me money to pay for all the equipment.

Really fishy, as you already know. If they have been in contact with you and are going to send the "equipment" to a warehouse near you why not simply send it to you ?!? Makes far more sense. Also make sure that the account you gave them does not have overdraft protection.

 

[Colleen27]

Ugh. Good thinking using a less-used account for the form. I'm not sure I'd take a remote job with no in-person HR contact if I had to provide direct deposit info. The handful of companies I've worked with remotely, including the startup I just started with, have let me use Paypal as my payment method so there's no exposing my account and routing numbers on a direct deposit form. I think at this point, I'd insist on that and assume that any purely online gig that didn't agree or offer some similar alternative (CashApp, Venmo, etc) was a scam.

 

[prairie_girl]

You did the right thing in calling your bank. I think there are jobs where you have to pay for equipment but they just tell you what to purchase and you do it, you don't involve the company in that normally. This sounded very scammy

Happy you got the other job

I don't have it yet, but I'm very shortlisted for it. I also found out that they are hiring for multiple positions so even if I'm not the first choice, I won't be the last choice.

Really fishy, as you already know. If they have been in contact with you and are going to send the "equipment" to a warehouse near you why not simply send it to you ?!? Makes far more sense. Also make sure that the account you gave them does not have overdraft protection.

Thanks for the thought, but it doesn't have overdraft. It's a bare bones account that we only keep because our main account with another branch doesn't accept cheques.

Ugh. Good thinking using a less-used account for the form. I'm not sure I'd take a remote job with no in-person HR contact if I had to provide direct deposit info. The handful of companies I've worked with remotely, including the startup I just started with, have let me use Paypal as my payment method so there's no exposing my account and routing numbers on a direct deposit form. I think at this point, I'd insist on that and assume that any purely online gig that didn't agree or offer some similar alternative (CashApp, Venmo, etc) was a scam.

It definitely wasn't my finest moment but I was pretty confident that even if it was a scam, they weren't going to get any money. They do have my name, address, phone number etc but that's considered public knowledge.

 

[scrump]

As a fellow job seeker throughout the pandemic, I empathize. I was bummed to hear you were scammed, but am THRILLED to hear about your opportunity with Boeing!!! Good luck!!!

 

[prairie_girl]

As a fellow job seeker throughout the pandemic, I empathize. I was bummed to hear you were scammed, but am THRILLED to hear about your opportunity with Boeing!!! Good luck!!!

Thank you!