More than a million people are victims of work-at-home scams each year. Some, I’m sorry to say, had it coming. They went in with their hearts instead of their heads. Others, however, couldn’t have dodged the bullet even if they tried. The work-at-home scam was just too sophisticated for the average searcher.
These days con artists don’t just create work-at-home scams, they create systems that will damage the lives of their victims long after they have pulled out of the scam. Below are some ways con artists take advantage of you.
1. The “send in your resume” scam. This is a difficult scam to detect because it appears to be legitimate. After all, the company is asking for prospects to email them a resume and cover letter. This is something all legit companies do. However, it’s your email address they want.
Once you email them with your resume or to ask for more information, they will attach a malware to their email. This allows the con artist to gain free access to the job seeker’s computer, including passwords and personal email.
Because many people who work online have PayPal accounts, hackers can gain access into these accounts and drain them. They also gain access to the victim’s address book, thus sending the scam to their friends and family or in severe cases, death threats.
Another clever tactic used in this “send in your resume” scam is to ask for a lot of personal information, such as full name, address, sex, telephone-cell-fax, bank account number, copy of Driver’s License or Passport, and occasionally, a Social Security Number.
Once the con artist has obtained this information, it is sold to an identity theft ring.
2. The “I love you scam.” This scam doesn’t start out as a work-at-home scam but is designed as such. It starts with someone, usually in a singles chat room, approaching you to chat. These con artists form bonds with their victims and deceive them into thinking that they love them.
They then pitch a home business idea, or those that are already in business tell them they need their help. Because the victim feels as though they are in love, they can’t or don’t say no.
The con artist then requests money for the business, or the victim is made into third party receiver of funds or packages. The packages are always stolen or were bought with fake credit cards. Because the victim “loves” the con artist, they continue to send money or packages without questioning why they’re not seeing a dime.
In the case of receiving funds, their bank accounts are drained. Victims are always left heavily in debt, and because you are handling stolen goods, this scam can get you prosecuted.
New age work-at-home scams are far more sophisticated than purchasing a box of junk. They leave the victim heavily in debt; destroy their credit rating, as well as your reputation. Fortunately, there are more resources today for victims of work-at-home scams. For example, http://www.fraud.org is an excellent resource for someone dealing with a work-at-home scam.
Written by Jeff Casmer
