Signs Of A Job Scam: What You Need To Know To Avoid A Trap
(CBS) -- Even if that little voice in your head doesn't immediately realize that a scam is a scam, here are some things to check before sending anyone anything.
Legit jobs will not demand any kind of payment up front. They will not send you a check and ask you to return all/part of it.
But besides all of that, here are things you should investigate, before parting with your hard-earned money.
Take a look at the email address that is the source of the "job offer." It's from an email address at hawkinsinteriorsdesign.com [interior followed by an 's'] Yet the name of the company's website is hawkinsinteriordesign.com -- singular, no 's.'
The company website showed the "design firm" was located in Nashville, Tenn. Yet the "job recipient" was asked to send the money orders to an address in Michigan [below is from the FedEx receipt where she shipped them]. Why would a company in Nashville ask to send money to an address in Michigan? Also, we Googled that address, and learned it was an RV park. Again, why would a supposedly professional design company in Tennessee have any connection to a Michigan mobile home park?
Below is a screen grab from the "design company" website. It includes these testimonials, with photos of three people [we've covered their faces to protect their identity]. However, through a Google photo search, we learned that at least one of them belongs to someone else with a different name, living halfway around the world.
That person's overseas employer reported that two of its staffers' images were used without permission, and the staffers have no knowledge "no knowledge of nor affiliation" with the purported design company.
Scam Artist Turns Victim Into Accomplice In Employment Scam
You can use a reverse Google photo search to check on where photos on a questionable website might also appear. Scammers often steal random photos off the Internet to lend credibility to their otherwise bogus sites.
Here are additional links to avoid falling for a scam like this:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams
https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/avoiding-fake-check-scams
https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/august2019.html
