Malcolm Eatmon looks for jobs like most people, on the internet. He found one that caught his interest on careerbuilder.com.
"They wanted to see if you would be interested in doing something where you can stay at home and make around $2,000 a month," said Eatmon.
After applying for the job, Eatmon was notified via email he got the job as a customer relations manager with IT Services Group, Inc., of Grand Island, Nebraska.
"It was sent as an urgent message," said Eatmon. "We need you to fill out this paperwork. You got the job but send us this information back."
Eatmon filled out the paperwork, which included very personal information, like his bank account information, social security number, even a copy of his driver's license. He says he was concerned sending in all that information without ever meeting anyone from the company. So, he did some checking.
"I looked around on the internet to see if there were any hints of fraud but there was nothing really showing," said Eatmon.
Eatmon's first big task sounded pretty simple. A rep from IT Services Group deposited over $9,000 in his bank account. An email explained all he had to do was take that money out of his account and wire it to programmers in the Ukraine. Through email, the rep told him he'd even get a $300 bonus for completing the task.
"The wire transfer came on one day and that was for $9,450," said Eatmon. "I went to the bank that same day and withdrew $9,450. There were no questions asked. There wasn't 'we're going to have to put a hold on this', they just let me withdraw it."
Eatmon followed the instructions and made two separate wire transfers out of the country.
"I emailed her back saying the tasks were done and I never received an e-mail back," said Eatmon.
And, weeks later, there's still no word from anyone at IT Services Group. No paycheck. No bonus. Just a huge debt. Eatmon now owes the bank the $9,450. That deposit IT Services Group made came back as fraudulent.
"Anytime it says work from home, great opportunity but we don't need to see you, big red flags," said Eatmon.
Those big red flags include any jobs that deal with payment processing where the company wants you to receive funds and then wire it out to others.
Eatmon is not alone. Now when you do a quick check on the internet, you'll find several people who fell for the same scam all within a few weeks. Now, after losing thousands, they can't get in touch with anyone from the company.
You need to be careful as these scams continue to be out there. The people just use different company names, changing them as soon as they get enough people to fall for the scam.
Careerbuilder.com does have disclaimers on its website about these types of scams.
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