The FBI has issued a warning about scammers who target people with false work-from-home job offers. These work-from-home job scams frequently involve easy tasks, like evaluating restaurants or constantly clicking a button to “optimize” a service.
The scammers pretend to be a legitimate business, like staffing or recruiting agencies and may contact potential victims through spontaneous calls or messages.
How Does Work-From-Home Job Scam Work?
Scammers dupe victims by convincing them that they will earn money through a complicated compensation structure that involves cryptocurrency payments. These payments are ostensibly required to earn more money or unlock extra tasks, but in reality, they go straight to the scammers.
Victims are directed to a fake online interface that shows they are earning money, but none of it can be cashed out.
The FBI further urges anyone who encounters these fraudulent job offers to report them to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at http://www.ic3.gov. The Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, is the Nation’s central hub for reporting cybercrime.
It is run by the FBI, the lead federal agency for investigating cybercrime. Victims should provide any transaction details related to the scam.
So, What Are the Red Flags to Watch For?
- You are asked to make cryptocurrency payments as part of the job.
- The fake work-from-home job involves simple tasks described with terms like “optimization.”
- In the hiring process, no references will be required.
Steps to Protect Yourself From Scams
- Be cautious of unsolicited employment offers and avoid clicking on links, downloading files, or opening attachments in such messages.
- Don’t transfer money to anyone purporting to be an employer.
- Avoid paying for firms that claim to retrieve stolen cryptocurrency funds. • Do not provide financial or personal information to unsolicited employment offers.
