From Margie Tann - iSekurity
Source: ic3 - an FBI / NWC3 Partnership
Employment/business opportunity schemes have surfaced wherein bogus foreign-based companies are recruiting citizens in the United States on several employment-search websites for work-at-home employment opportunities. These positions often involve reselling or reshipping merchandise to destinations outside the United States.
Prospective employees are required to provide personal information, as well as copies
of their identification, such as a driver's license, birth certificate, or social
security card. Those employees that are "hired" by these companies are then told
that their salary will be paid by check from a United States company reported to
be a creditor of the employer. This is done under the pretense that the employer
does not have any banking set up in the United States.
The amount of the check is significantly more than the employee is owed for salary
and expenses, and the employee is instructed to deposit the check into their own
account, and then wire the overpayment back to the employer's bank, usually located
in Eastern Europe. The checks are later found to be fraudulent, often after the
wire transfer has taken place.
In a similar scam, some web-based international companies
are advertising for affiliate opportunities, offering individuals the chance
to sell high-end electronic items, such as plasma television sets and home theater
systems, at significantly reduced prices.
The affiliates are instructed to offer the merchandise on well-known Internet auction
sites. The affiliates will accept the payments, and pay the company, typically by
means of wire transfer. The company is then supposed to drop-ship the merchandise
directly to the buyer, thus eliminating the need for the affiliate to stock or warehouse
merchandise. The merchandise never ships, which often prompts the buyers to take
legal action against the affiliates, who in essence are victims themselves.
Employment/business opportunity schemes have surfaced wherein bogus foreign-based companies are recruiting citizens in the United States on several employment-search websites for work-at-home employment opportunities. These positions often involve reselling or reshipping merchandise to destinations outside the United States.
Prospective employees are required to provide personal information, as well as copies
of their identification, such as a driver's license, birth certificate, or social
security card. Those employees that are "hired" by these companies are then told
that their salary will be paid by check from a United States company reported to
be a creditor of the employer. This is done under the pretense that the employer
does not have any banking set up in the United States.
The amount of the check is significantly more than the employee is owed for salary
and expenses, and the employee is instructed to deposit the check into their own
account, and then wire the overpayment back to the employer's bank, usually located
in Eastern Europe. The checks are later found to be fraudulent, often after the
wire transfer has taken place.
In a similar scam, some web-based international companies
are advertising for affiliate opportunities, offering individuals the chance
to sell high-end electronic items, such as plasma television sets and home theater
systems, at significantly reduced prices.
The affiliates are instructed to offer the merchandise on well-known Internet auction
sites. The affiliates will accept the payments, and pay the company, typically by
means of wire transfer. The company is then supposed to drop-ship the merchandise
directly to the buyer, thus eliminating the need for the affiliate to stock or warehouse
merchandise. The merchandise never ships, which often prompts the buyers to take
legal action against the affiliates, who in essence are victims themselves.
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