Phony job posts could cost you money
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) — Scam artists are increasingly targeting the unemployed with what often sounds like legitimate job prospects. These bogus offers often involved "mystery shopping," where the victims are led to believe they'll be paid for evaluating businesses. These jobs may seem enticing, but they could end up costing you money.
Carolyn Ordonez found an online job listing looking for a mystery shopper. The out-of-work North Hollywood resident responded to the ad on Craigslist, and after sending a resume and a letter to the employer, she was hired.
The company – which calls itself Survey Walmart, or Consumer Research Group – offered her money to evaluate the customer service departments of Western Union and Moneygram.
"They had me go to a local Western Union and told me to, 'Keep $200 for yourself,'" said Ordonez. "They said to send the rest out, get the receipt, and fill out this customer service evaluation form and fax it to them."
She received a check for $1650, then went to her bank in North Hollywood to cash it. The bank did on the spot, and she kept her $200, as instructed. She walked into a Western Union branch and wired more than $1400 to a company rep in Ontario, Canada. A few weeks later the check bounced and now she's paying the price.
"I just have to pay it back, and if I don't it goes to collection," said Ordonez. "It's really unfortunate, because right now I'm unemployed. It's the worst time for me to go through this."
We tried to contact the company that hired her several times, but they never returned calls.
"They print out these counterfeit checks that are as phony as a $3 bill," said Bill Mitchell from the Better Business Bureau. "They're not written by the company. They're not drawn on any particular bank and they look really real."
Mitchell says there are an increasing number of phony check scams. Many use Web sites like Craigslist because its free to advertise and nearly impossible to track down the con artists.
Mitchell says you need to beware of these counterfeit checks.
"A large red flag should go up," said Mitchell. "Tell yourself, 'There's something wrong here,' because even legitimate businesses don't do this. They don't take strangers and send them large amounts of money."
Carolyn doesn't expect to get any of her money back. Although her bank did reverse all of her fees for the bounced check.
By Ric Romero | abclocal
