Scams Perpetrated Through Popular Online Tools Used By Millions

So you’ve reentered the job market and considered putting your skills to work in the remote or work-from-home market. Best of luck in all your future endeavors, but be cautious.

While looking for one of these opportunities, I experienced a lot of success attracting the attention of those listing online work. I should be happy, but after many opportunities presented themselves simultaneously, I learned a dismal truth about the market.

1. Be cautious on the internet.
2. Pay attention.
3. No, there aren’t limitations on what scammers will do to come after you.

Indeed hosts several jobs for online data entry, customer service representatives, and administrative workers. I didn’t realize this until three interviews were done but they’re unlikely to hire anybody. What they will do is far worse.

I noticed that everybody uses a standardized interviewing list for online interviews.

I was offered several jobs paying from 32 to 50 dollars an hour. It sounded good, but I noticed the similarities in interview styles were remarkable. It was like being interviewed by the same person, something that’s unlikely considering the companies were listed in California, Arizona, Alabama, Sydney Australia, and Georgia.

Job #1 even made me an offer. They sent me a check to cover the costs of picking up company e equipment. I was going to have top-of-the-line equipment. Being the cautious and alert type I decided to look at the company name. I searched for the company in Alabama and found a number. Surprise!

The business had gone under a year before this happened. The check looked as legitimate as one the Pope would hand you. But it wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.

In a second scenario, the interviewer sent me a check for 7,000 dollars. It was to buy office supplies. For an at-home office, it was going to be a top-of-the-line setup. Interestingly enough, when checking the routing number, it was issued by a bank that doesn’t exist and was mailed from a city hours away from the office’s headquarters.

The California Sun is being used for this type of scam. It was spottable as they put me through the online interview and I watched how the questions were the same as they were from the group using Polaris Partners, an East Coast company. It matched that of TLC Healthcare, an organization listed in Sydney.

It appears there aren’t any legitimate work-from-home or remote office jobs. The market may have died since the last one I did in 2020.

Be careful, be on the lookout, and be smart. If not, looking for a job could become an expensive reality.

Admittedly, I could have easily fallen for these scams at different points.

After tracking down the information on Polaris Partners, a company in Boston, MA, I carefully examined the check. Seven thousand dollars was an unusually high amount to give someone without a written agreement, so I looked into it further, utilizing reverse search engines to check on the account, and then having a banker confirm what I believed to be true. The check wasn't worth the effort put into manufacturing it. It was incredibly realistic but would have bounced.

They asked me, as the potential victim, to cash the check immediately and then let us know the number of the account you processed the check through. Big red flag there.

With over 20 years in law enforcement on my resume, one would think that people wouldn't try too hard to come after me with something like this. But it's so risky right now when it comes to dealing with people, one group tried me again today.

Be careful, be aware, and be prepared to defend yourself against internet scams and cyber thefts. If you aren't, there's likely nobody coming to make it right.