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With the surge in remote jobs since 2020, the popularity of employment scams is also on the rise as scammers exploit new opportunities to trap unsuspecting victims. One prevalent form of employment scam is the "reshipping" or "shipping insurance" scam. This scheme entices individuals with the promise of an easy work-from-home side gig. A notable case in Concord, New Hampshire involves an operation masquerading as "Shinrai Insurance," deceptively adopting the name of a legitimate insurance company based in India.
The BBB office serving New Hampshire received multiple reports over the past few months from victims who had, to a lesser or greater degree, fallen for the scam. Regardless of how far the fraud progressed, there were similarities shared across all reported cases.
The presentation of a scam business can be persuasive at first glance. Scam businesses often either copy the name of a legitimate but obscure company or use a name that sounds convincingly generic for the industry they claim to operate in. Websites are often well designed - the impostor Shinrai Insurance's website features a professional design and claims to specialize in international shipping, with thousands of satisfied customers and an extensive fleet of cargo ships. Scam businesses will also claim to be located at legitimate addresses but following investigation, it becomes clear that no business by their name is located at the claimed location. In this case, BBB spoke with the property management company at their claimed address of 70 Commercial St., Concord, NH who confirmed that no business by that name (Shinrai Insurance) was ever an occupant.
Victims reported finding job positions for Shinrai on Indeed and applying there before being contacted directly. The hiring process required them to provide banking details for direct deposit, proof of residency, and a driver's license or other ID to finalize their hiring. Once hired, victims reported receiving packages, repackaging them, and shipping them out for an entire month. Yet, as victims reached the point of payment for their services, communication with the business abruptly ceased, leaving them high and dry.
Key warning signs of employment scams include:
- You never initiated an application for the position.
- The job's pay rate seems unrealistically high relative to the work involved.
- The job description or the company's operations appear vague.
- All communication occurs exclusively through email or messenger services.
- The company lacks a verifiable physical office address.
- Absence of accessible information about the company, such as contact details or professional profiles of owners/recruiters.
- No independent websites or references mention the company.
- Lack of accreditation or a low rating with the Better Business Bureau.
If you are suspicious or nervous about a business, research them independently. You should be able to find information on the business like:
- Contact information for the company.
- A verified physical address.
- Professional profiles for owners/recruiters.
- Independent websites referencing the company.
- Accreditation or rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Additionally, some types of job offers are always a scam. Reshipping, for example, is illegal, so any offer of such a job is part of a scam. The USPS has a page that informs the public about these scams: USPS Reshipping Notice.
If you wish to verify a business, contact your local Better Business Bureau or do a search on BBB.org. Often, your BBB will have a business profile on the business already, but even if they don't, they can assist in confirming information about the company if it is legitimate. BBB has also conducted a study on employment scams where you can learn more about other types of job scams to better inform you of the many ways victims are targeted.
You can also search for an already reported scam or file a new report through BBB's Scam Tracker.
If you need to report an employment scam:
- Report the company to Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)