Nowadays we must be aware of scam! One more note about scamming, but on the different theme – Internet job scam! Read next!
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Tough economic times seem to bring more opportunity for crooks and more hazards for job hunters.
A Bakersfield man who just lost his job also lost a lot of money in an Internet job scam.
Daniel Nichols, 31, answered an ad he found on the Web site Careerbuilder.com, and he was offered a position by a company calling itself International Design Center.
“It was a legitimate job hunting Web site, where you post your resume,” Nichols said Friday.
He said the company asked him to fax back an application and a document they called a “contractor agreement.” It all looked like a real job and a real company. And the position was Financial Manager.
The company then mailed him a check for $2,743.80. He was supposed to cash the check, keep 5 percent for himself, and wire the rest to the company. He did that, and then got the bad news.
“The next day when I came home from a job interview, I found out that my bank account was at a negative $2,700,” Nichols said. The bank told him the check from the company was counterfeit, and he was responsible for paying back the money.
Nichols had just been laid off from a job in a store at the mall. He had about $600 in his bank account from his last check. He hoped that would cover some bills while he looked for another job.
The bank took that $600 to cover the counterfeit check, and he still owes the rest. He expects to also get hit with steep bank overdraft fees.
Nichols said he hasn’t been sleeping much since this happened. And he admits he did think the new job might be too good to be true.
“It did unfortunately, I have to admit it,” Nichols said. “But because of my certain situation right now, as far as having a new child on the way and losing my job, I thought this might be too much, the thought did run through my mind. Unfortunately, it should have run through my head a little bit better.”
Nichols has filed a crime report with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. He’s contacted the FBI, the district attorney’s office and some consumer groups.
Kern County Sheriff’s Sr. Deputy Mike Whorf said there were definitely some red flags in this scam. It’s always suspicious when someone is asked to cash a check and wire money back. Whorf said the cash is immediately gone, and almost impossible to track.
Meanwhile, it takes longer for a bank to clear a check and discover if it’s bogus.
Wiring money out of state or out of the country is another big warning sign. In Nichol’s case, he was asked to wire the funds to Russia.
But, he insists the bogus company’s Web site looked so realistic.
“These people that are doing this kind of stuff are very sophisticated. They build extremely good Web sites that make it look like it’s a legitimate business,” Nichols said.
He now thinks the scammers stole a Web site from a real company, and put it on their Web site.
So far, every agency he’s contacted told Nichols he is probably out his money, and stuck paying back his bank to cover the counterfeit check. He’s still out looking for jobs, he’s been on interviews, and hopes for good news on a real position.
“Basically, I’m just trying to reach out to the community if there’s anything they can do to help me,” Nichols said. “And I’m just trying to help them. I want people to know that this can happen to anybody.”
