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With remote job opportunities becoming more commonly sought after, scammers are now taking advantage of job seekers who want to work from their homes.
The Better Business Bureau urges people to use caution when considering work-from-home opportunities involving package reshipments. These remote positions could be phishing scams designed to steal your personal information.
BBB Serving Northern Indiana investigated Cargo, LLC, Cargo Group, LLC and Cargo Shipping, LLC after receiving numerous reports to BBB Scam Tracker of fake reshipping jobs.
How the scam works
You’re contacted by someone either through an unsolicited phone call, email, social media message, or job-search website. The person claims to have found your resume online and offers you a remote “shipping expert” position or a similar role.
The job has an enticing compensation package, including a base salary and bonuses for handling and reshipping packages. During the interview and screening process, you are asked to provide sensitive information, such as your photo ID, Social Security number, and other personal details.
Once you hand over this information, your new “employer” either vanishes, leaving you vulnerable to identity theft and without legitimate employment, or you continue participating in the reshipping scam but never receive your promised payment and benefits.
A Nevada woman shared her experience with a reshipping job scam to BBB Scam Tracker: “The scammer told me I was hired for the job, and tried to sell me on the position saying I would get paid $3000/month plus bonuses. They also tried to tell me that I would get $100 bonus for completing my application. She tried to rush me through the process and wanted to know when I could send the application back to them. She even offered to stay on hold while I completed the forms. After looking up their address, I found that they are using the address of an old [company name redacted] warehouse that closed in 2017. They said the position was to repack and ship packages that get sent to my home.”
Another consumer, an active service member from Alabama, also reported their experience: “It was an initial email saying they had a job offer for a shipment expert where the base salary is 3,000 USD and you could earn up to 4,600 USD per month by picking up and checking packages and shipping them to international customers. The person stayed on the phone while I submitted the required document which was my DL front, back, and a selfie with it. After which my wife looked them up and found a link to the BBB and news article about the scam.”
Cargo Group Logistics, LLC currently holds an NR rating on BBB's business profile with an associated warning. BBB Scam Tracker received 14 reports of this scam in February and March of 2023, which led to the initial warning on BBB.org. Reports ceased until May 2024, when BBB Scam Tracker received 15 reports in 18 days, prompting another warning to the public.
BBB recommends the following tips to help identify and avoid a reshipping job scam.
- When applying for a remote job, do your research first. Visit BBB.org to verify the company’s rating, customer reviews, contact information, warnings, and more. Look for the BBB Seal to identify a BBB Accredited Business. If the job you’re considering seems suspicious, search for it on Google. If the result comes up in many cities with the same exact post, it’s likely a scam. You can also search the name of the company and the word “scam” to see if other people have reported their experience.
- Never disclose personally identifiable information to an unsolicited contact. If somebody asks you to share your Social Security Number or the information on your driver’s license, consider it a red flag and proceed with caution. This can help protect you from identity theft.
- Don’t give out your financial information, either. If your new “employer” pressures you to give your banking information for your direct deposit during the interview to be considered for the job, take that as a red flag. Never give anyone you haven't met your banking or credit card information.
- Take your time. Don’t be pressured to act immediately. Receiving a great job offer can be exciting, but remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Instead of getting caught up in the moment or feeling pressured to act quickly, do your research or discuss the situation with a third party.
- Check the business' website and social media. Scammers often use the names or addresses of real businesses or those no longer in operation. To verify, check the business's website and social media pages for incomplete or inconsistent information, or call the business to confirm that the position exists.
For more information
To learn more about reshipping and employment scams, check out BBB Scam Alert: How a work from home reshipping scam is fooling job seekers or BBB.org/employmentscam.