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Finding a new job can be stressful and time-consuming. For one local Shrewsbury resident, looking for employment led to being scammed out of a staggering $90,000.
It all began when Mike browsed a local Facebook group called “Shrewsbury Deals.” A post by “Priyanka Kashyap” regarding an open position caught Mike’s attention. He messaged “Priyanka” for more information about the position. “Priyanka” stated that the “administrator” would explain the details but that he would have to communicate via WhatsApp. Mike provided his WhatsApp number and was introduced to the “administrator,” “Flora E Novasa.”
Flora claimed the position was with a company called “ITC Travel” and gave a vague job description, stating that the job would require "1-2 hours per day." She then informed Mike that he would need to log into her account for training and would receive a 25% commission for doing so.
Mike logged into Flora’s account and received instructions on how to complete tasks. These tasks involved clicking on different travel destinations and posting 5-star reviews. The tasks were split into “journeys,” each completed review earned a small commission.
After some training, Mike created his own account and was told he needed to deposit $100 to get started, which he did via a local Bitcoin ATM. This was the first of many times he would be conned into depositing his money into the scammers’ Bitcoin wallet.
The scam involved two balances in Mike’s account: an “Account Balance” and a “Commission Balance.” To complete a journey, he had to pay the journey value and would then be reimbursed along with his commission. Mike continued depositing money to complete journeys, each time needing to deposit more.
At one point, Mike was told he needed $35,500 to complete a journey with a promised commission of $1,242.50. He deposited the money, but the cycle continued, with Mike repeatedly depositing more money to avoid losing his balance and commission.
Eventually, Mike was told his withdrawal function was frozen because it took too long to complete the journeys. He was asked to pay $20,000 to unfreeze it. Mike sent another $15,000. When he tried to withdraw again, he was told his “credit score” was too low and that he needed to pay $500 per percentage point to reach 100%. Mike sent another $13,500.
When he finally attempted to withdraw, he was asked to pay a “withdrawal guarantee fee” of $23,364.29. Realizing he had been scammed, Mike stopped sending money. In total, he lost about $90,000. Despite still being able to log into the account, which showed a balance of $116,821.49, none of the money was real.
Tips to avoid job scams:
- Research the job offer: Verify the job posting by contacting the company directly.
- Check with the BBB: Look up businesses at BBB.org.
- Internet search: Search the employer’s name and “scam” to check for reports.
- Examine email addresses: Ensure they match the company’s protocols; be wary of Gmail business addresses.
- Separate email: Use a different email address for job applications to detect scam offers.
- Separate bank account: Handle pay from unfamiliar employers through a second bank account.
- Paying for a job: If you’re asked to pay for a job, it’s likely a scam.
- Mystery shopping: Be cautious of mystery shopper positions.
- Reshipping packages: Work-from-home jobs involving reshipping are likely scams.
- Forwarding money: Beware of jobs requiring you to receive and forward money.
- Fake checks: BBB is unaware of legitimate job offers involving checks sent to applicants.
- Personal information: Don’t provide personal details to unverified recruiters.
- Vague descriptions: Be wary of jobs with unclear descriptions.
- Scam detection: Even if you do the work, it could still be a scam.
- Suspicious communications: Avoid responding to unknown numbers or suspicious addresses.
- Unknown links: Don’t click links from unknown senders; verify with the sender if it seems out of character.
Report job scams to:
- Better Business Bureau: BBB.org or BBB Scam Tracker.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): ReportFraud.ftc.gov or call 877-FTC-Help.
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): ic3.gov.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.
For more information:
Read more about employment scams in BBB's 2023 Scam Tracker Risk Report and learn more about spotting the signs of employment scams. Read more about job scams in this BBB study of job scams.
If you spot a scam, report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker to help others avoid falling victim to similar tactics.
BBB Central and Western MA and Northeastern CT contributed this article.