Tucson Standard

The Tucson Police Department would like to remind people to be skeptical when applying for “work from home” jobs on the internet.  Typically, fraudsters will target these individuals by offering great pay with very little to no work.  Well, if it sounds too good to be true, it is likely a scam.  In these scams, the fraudster will have you fill out an application with all of your personal identifiable information (i.e. name, date of birth, social security number, address and banking information).  They will then send you a check, usually larger than expected, for you to deposit in your account.  They ask you to send money back to them or someone else to either pay for equipment or other job related duties.  It may seem like the check “cleared”, but it is usually a fraudulent check and once you have sent the money off (usually by wire, peer to peer app or other untraceable means) the check returns stolen, and the bank will demand the money from you.

Tips

Do your research on the company to find out the legitimacy (do not use information provided in the ad) before providing any information.  Often times, people call the company after they’ve lost money only to find out the company information was used fraudulently.

Do not be rushed into a decision.  Immediacy is a RED FLAG.  Scammers often place a large amount of pressure to complete the task or you will lose the job, thus creating a false sense of urgency. 

Reporting / Resources

If you sent money to a scammer, immediately contact the company you used to send the money (i.e. your bank, Western Union, ITunes, Google Play, Zelle, Cash App, etc.) and alert them about the fraudulent transaction.  They may not be able to get your money back, but it is important to alert them of fraud.

If the scam originated online, such as through email, social media or online classifieds, a report should be made to the Internet Crime Complaint Center https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

A person who has information of a phone scam should report that information to the 

Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

If you lost money or have information to believe these criminals are in the local area, a local police report may also be appropriate. Tucson Police Department Online reporting - https://www.tucsonaz.gov/apps/crime-reporting/

Original source can be found here.