Then the pandemic hit.
Can’t beat the commute, but criminals have paid close attention to this trend too.
Meanwhile, people who are unemployed and job hunting are particularly vulnerable.
[00:02:06] M: Yes.
And in the middle of the pandemic, her job search took a surprising turn.
Had you ever imagined a work from home kind of job?
[00:02:46] M: No, honestly not at all.
So the possibility of working from home presented something very, very different for me.
It was just like the, the idea of being like confined.
You know, it was a nice sized cubicle, I guess.
It was just…
[00:03:37] Bob: There’s no such thing as a nice sized cubicle.
(laugh)
[00:03:40] M: I know.
I know, it’s just like I can’t get used to this.
Or finding like colleges who had college career centers and providing them this as a resource for their students.
And so I was in charge of kind of building out what these programs would look like.
[00:05:45] Bob: She liked the job, and she liked her coworkers too.
And so I very much trusted her once she kind of made that introduction.
And uh you know, and so and then you know, and then she wasn’t.
[00:09:48] M: It probably wasn’t until middle of November.
And she’s like, “Oh yeah, you know, sometimes that happens.
Sometimes start-ups have you know wonky things in place in the beginning.
[00:10:42] Bob: But the paycheck delays start to pile up.
And she starts asking questions.
The answers suggest there is more than ordinary start-up chaos going on.
[00:12:33] Bob: Then troublesome signs start to pile up.
We’re going to deactivate her phone, so you won’t be able to reach her.
We really just want her to focus on healing,” and that kind of thing.
[00:14:05] Bob: The team even went as far as calling the police.
Honestly, she just kind of fell off the face of the earth.
We kept trying to find other phone numbers for her, other emails.
She said she had cancer, now she’s fallen off the face of the earth.
We just want to confirm that she’s like alive.
They did the wellness check, and they said nobody was there.
Or, oh my God, that was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
Unemployment basically say, you don’t have a job on file with us.
And so we all just kind of went into survival mode.
[00:17:35] Bob: She’s a ghost.
A ghost who owes former employees a lot of money.
[00:17:42] Bob: What a story.
How much does she, or did she owe you at this point?
[00:17:46] M: Close to about $13,000.
And then of course I never got the, the rest of that.
Time she could have spent looking for a real job.
[00:18:47] M: Um…
I don’t think that it would have dragged out as long as it did.
[00:19:51] Bob: And what is FlexJobs?
[00:19:53] Toni Frana: FlexJobs is a website that helps people find flexible and remote jobs.
Weve been around since 2007.
[00:20:22] Bob: Why is it important that you make that legitimate distinction?
What’s difficult about finding legitimate flexible jobs?
[00:20:58] Bob: So what is it about remote work that makes it a target for criminals?
Like I want to work from home, I want to have a flexible schedule.
I want to make a lot of money.
And a lot of times these scams entice people because they say they do those three things.
[00:22:00] Toni Frana: Absolutely.
And they will show you, or give you the website address.
[00:23:49] Bob: And it can be even more targeted than that, right.
The ad might even say you know, chance to work with animals for example.
[00:23:58] Bob: …it’s the perfect job.
That’s what happened to our high school teacher.
[00:25:43] Toni Frana: Oh sure, yeah, uh-hmm.
And that makes for the pool of victims to be even larger I would think.
[00:25:53] Toni Frana: Absolutely.
It goes back to you know, what I was saying before.
And that is scary.
[00:27:03] Bob: There are plenty of different flavors of scams that victimize would-be remote workers.
You never get paid.
You, you must hear from people who use your service who end up in that situation, right?
You know, theres not another word, I dont think.
It can definitely take a toll.
When you’re hunting for a job, you have to do all these things.
You have to put personal information on your resume.
[00:30:51] Toni Frana: Absolutely.
But that happens after youve got the job offer, or on your first day.
[00:33:09] Toni Frana: Yes, and, and that’s where they get us.
It is hard to find a job.
It is hard to be in that position.
[00:34:27] Toni Frana: So there are plenty of them.
We talked about email addresses already, and any upfront expenses.
We talked about the technology stipends and, and reimbursements there.
Thats just when youre reading the job online, right, the job posting.
Um, theyre not interested in what youre going to bring to the table.
Instead, they offer you the job immediately, and they express an urgency to accept.
That is not typical of a legitimate job offer.
[00:35:54] Bob: You might remember that our high school teacher got her first paycheck via PayPal.
I asked Toni if that was a bad sign.
But it was legitimate.
So thats not necessarily in–, indicative of a scam.
You know, who can you talk to.
Are there people on LinkedIn who work at the organization.
How long have they been there?
So are there, there are some things that you could do.
[00:37:41] Toni Frana: Absolutely.
[00:38:56] Toni Frana: So the number one scam that we see at FlexJobs is data entry.
So it would be a great way to get started with remote work.
Data entry jobs very, very rarely pay an exorbitant amount of money.
Its pretty, it’s a pretty typical pay rate.
So thats something that you want to look out for.
We talked um, a little bit about unsolicited job offers or urgent job offers.
We need you to take this job.
You are the perfect person for this.
This is a job that is not sought out by the jobseeker but does offer immediate employment.
Theres also this, you know, kind of category of shipping or assembling products.
And those um, are scams as well.
Sometimes people will get a reshipping job, theyre called, or postal forwarding.
I mentioned craft products.
The company promises to pay you back for each package that you send.
And so youve lost all of that money.
Those are the, the main scams that weve seen.
You mentioned catfishing earlier.
This is also out there for, for a job scam.
You know, you tap on a specific link or youre giving detailed personal and financial information.
Someone is trying to collect as much information as they can for you to use maliciously.
[00:43:26] Bob: Toni even has a list of keywords that are red flags for job seekers.
These are telltale signs that the job could be a scam.
[00:44:33] Bob: …catch people, right; empowerment, women, Black Lives Matter.
[00:44:35] M: Yes.
[00:44:36] Bob: Yeah.
[00:44:36] M: Yes.
I do think she was very strategic in the way that she structured things and let things play out.
Do they have Google reviews?
And so not silencing that, but doing more to investigate why it is that you feel that way.
I kind of, you know, she checked all the boxes here.
[00:48:08] Bob: Oh no.
And I think he’s right.
M works for herself now and she loves it.
[00:51:10] Bob: So after all this you have be BYOB, you are your own boss.
[00:51:15] M: Yes.
[00:51:17] Bob: How about that.
Call the AARP Fraud Watch web connection Helpline at 877-908-3360.
Their trained fraud specialists can provide you with free support and guidance on what to do next.
Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
For AARP’s The Perfect Scam, I’m Bob Sullivan.
END OF TRANSCRIPT
Remote work, which was a necessity for many during the pandemic, is now commonplace.
While its hard to beat the commute, criminals are paying close attention to this trend too.
The company culture is great and the job is interesting.
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