A “work from home” job posting on LinkedIn or Craigslist could cost you thousands of dollars, Duluth police said.
Dozens have reported falling victim to the same scam, in which they believe they are hired for a mystery shopper job, said officer Ted Sadowski. Once they accept the job, victims are sent a check and told to deposit it and use the money to buy gift cards at nearby stores.
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The victims then give the gift card numbers and security codes, which can be used to redeem the card balance, to the scammer. Soon after, the victims learn the check they deposited was worthless, and they owe the balance, up to $5,200, Sadowski said. The scammers already have access to the money the victims put on the gift cards and become unreachable.
One victim responded to a scammer’s ad on March 31. He was sent a check for $2,692 and a letter on stationary from a New York-based company. The letter instructed him to spend the money on $2,500 in gift cards from the Apple Store at the Mall of Georgia and a $50 iTunes gift card from a nearby Walgreens, according to a police report.
The victim sent the scammer the gift card information and later learned the check provided was denied by his bank because it was “suspicious.” When the victim contacted the company named on the letter, he was told that they had not previously contacted or employed him.
Police believe the scammer is “spoofing” the phone numbers of real businesses to convince victims that they are engaging in a legitimate work.
If you have fallen victim to this or a similar scam, contact your local police department. The Duluth Police Department can be reached at 770-476-4151.
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