Amid this rigid economy, those out of work looking to make money might want to steer clear of those tempting work-at-home offers.  That’s because the IC3, a government funded internet crime investigation unit, continues to receive numerous complaints from individuals who have fallen victim to work-at-home scams.  Often criminals prey upon those seeking employment both online and through newspaper listings.

          IC3 investigators say work-at-home schemes attract otherwise innocent individuals, causing them to become part of criminal schemes without realizing they are engaging in illegal behavior.

          Victims are often hired to “process payments,” “transfer funds,” or “reship products.”  These job scams involve the victims receiving and cashing fraudulent checks, transferring illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receiving stolen merchandise and shipping it to the criminals.  Other victims sign up to be a “mystery shopper,” receiving fraudulent checks with instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to “test” a company’s services.  Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds.

          These kinds of job scams provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to their potential or so-called “employer.”  The criminal, who victims think is their employer, can then use the victim’s information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register websites, etc., all in the victim’s name to commit more crimes.

             The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).  If you have been a victim of internet crime, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.