LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Businesses look for more employees around the holidays and scammers hope job seekers will fall for their fake postings.
Operations Director Rhonda Mettler with the Southern Nevada BBB explained the “package reshipment” scheme is one of the more prominent scams around the holiday season.
A BBB report found 65 percent of fake online job postings involved those package reshipping opportunities. An imposter employer sends their new victim packages. Their job is to inspect the contents for damage, then rewrap them like presents, repack them and ship them off to a new address. Mettler pointed out legitimate companies typically use major shipping companies, like the US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.
“You have no idea what that person is doing with these packages that they’re being sent,” Mettler added. “You don’t know if these packages that are being sent are stolen or not. You just don’t know anything about them.”
Imposter employers often disappear once the job is done and the employee never gets paid. The fake employer gets away with their new victim’s personal information, opening them up to identity theft. Mettler recommends all job seekers ignore unsolicited job offers and postings like this.
Other employment scams include asking the applicant for an upfront fee, completing projects before receiving an offer or getting an offer before going through an interview. Mettler also recommends all job seekers research the opportunity and company before submitting an application.
“It’s always wise for consumers to check with the legitimate business,” Mettler continued. “Check to see if they are actually hiring for that position. Don’t ask the person that’s contacting you. Find the company and ask them directly.“
If job seekers come across any employment scams, report them to the Better Business Bureau.
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