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| 04/21/09 |
[April 21, 2009 – Nashville, TN] BBB warns job seekers of a work from home scam using a well-known charity's name to dupe unsuspecting consumers into cashing counterfeit checks.
The BBB was notified by a consumer who answered an advertisement in her local newspaper for a work-at-home job as a Regional Donations Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity International. She applied for the job via email and was accepted.
She was sent a check, which she was told was a donation, and was instructed to keep $350 of it as her payment and wire the remainder to another Habitat for Humanity official who was said to be in charge of home construction projects. Unfortunately, the check was counterfeit. If she would have deposited the check into her personal checking account and wired the remainder, as instructed, she would have owed her bank the amount of money she withdrew against the check deposit.
Fortunately, this consumer became suspicious and did not wire the money, as instructed. Instead, she contacted the Better Business Bureau, which believes this is the latest twist on a common, work-at-home scam.
“These scammers are getting even more aggressive, and unfortunately, using well-known names of reputable charities to gain creditability and perpetrate their crimes,” said Kathleen Calligan, President/CEO of the BBB. “Consumers should always be careful of questionable offers when searching for jobs, especially when you’re sent a check and asked to wire transfer some of it.”
Habitat for Humanity was contacted and confirmed that the offer is a scam. Habitat for Humanity -Nashville advises consumers who are interested in career opportunities or who would like to make a donation to contact their office directly at 615.254-HOME (4663) or visit their website at http://www.habitatnashville.org, or for those outside the Nashville area to visit http://www.habitat.org.
BBB advises job seekers to be aware of the following red flags which many indicate a fraudulent job offer:
- The job requires the employee to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram;
- The salary and benefits offered seem too-good-to-be-true;
- An employer offers the opportunity to become rich without leaving home;
- An employer asks for extensive personal information such as social security or bank account numbers without conducting a single interview;
- Employment offers are riddled with grammatical and spelling errors.
- BBB of Middle Tennessee offers a free online service – BBB Job Links – which gives BBB Accredited Business employers and prospective employees continual access to career opportunities within a TRUSTED environment. Visit www.Nashville.BBB.org for more information [Click on Jobs Link].
About the BBB:
The BBB of Middle Tennessee, Inc. was founded in 1961 as a non-profit Tennessee organization serving 38 counties in Middle Tennessee and 7 counties in Southern Kentucky. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada.
Serving as the 'ethical gatepost' of our communities, BBB fosters and promotes ethical business practices and self-regulation standards that build consumer trust in the marketplace. BBB services include business reliability information, complaint resolution services and consumer and business educational information. In 2008 BBB Nashville handled over 4.0 million services requests via our web site www.Nashville.BBB.org.
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