HAMPTON, Va. - Job hunting can sometimes be a struggle, but a Hampton woman who chose to stay anonymous, recently started getting some call backs.
She got her first offer last month. It was for a secret shopper at local stores and the employer asked her to buy gift cards.
"From the Walmart, mainly from Ebay or Amazon, and observe the workers. The cleanliness of the store. The friendliness of the staff and just basically like I was doing a report," said the Hampton woman.
Who she thought was her new employer also sent her a check for more than $2,000.
"Just being a little cautious, I googled the routing number to see what bank it was, and it was actually a real bank."
So she proceeded with the deposit - but her bank put a seven day hold on the check. Then she got a notification saying her deposit was returned.
"Once I sent them that information and a screenshot of it, they were silent."
A week later she got another offer from a law firm to be an office assistant to a job she applied to on a job search website. This offer also came with a check for over $3000.
And the following week - another offer - it also came with a check for $5,000.
"This was for an executive assistant. They wanted me to buy equipment from the vendor and said they would tell me about it once the funds were available."
She says they are all scams and the Federal Trade Commission is telling job seekers to be on the look out!
"They say you shouldn't have to pay to get paid. If you're looking into being a mystery shopper, they say a legit company will never ask you to deposit a check."
Lucky for this woman, her bank didn't deposit the funds because they detected fraud.
"I'm glad I was protected, but I am irritated because I want to work.'
She does know things could've been worse, and wants others to be careful!
"It could've been very detrimental because there is no way I could pay for or pay my bank back that kind of money when I'm looking for a job."
