Employment Fake Check Scam

Scammer's phone (619) 353-5658
Scammer's email [email protected]
Country United States
Victim Location FL 33993, USA
Type of a scam Employment

Contacted me offering employment at 35 an hour and offer to send a check for supplies needed

Scammer's email [email protected]
Country United States
Victim Location FL 33617, USA
Type of a scam Employment

I received an email from someone posing as a recruiter from Redline Solutions, who claimed to have received my application for a Software Engineer Remote position on LinkedIn. I was surprised because I never applied for the job. The email asked me to confirm my interest in the position by replying with the word "INTERESTED." Although the email looked professional, I had a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. I did some research and found out that Redline Solutions didn't have any job openings that matched the description in the email.

Nevertheless, I decided to continue to see where it would lead. After expressing interest in the job, I received an email with a Screening test/Interview Questions attachment, which I answered and sent back. The questions seemed like the ones you would respond to in an interview. After that, I received a job offer via email, claiming that I had been hired as a Software Engineer (REMOTE) by Redline Solutions, LLC, and offered $40 per hour plus benefits to work from home. However, the email also asked me to provide personal information such as my full name, home address, phone number, and email address in order to receive an Employment Offer Letter. I thought it was not really important information, so I provided it.

A few minutes later, they attached an employment offer letter for me to sign and return via email. The email stated that I would receive equipment to set up my home office, including an Apple MacBook Pro, HP printer, headset, and other software. They also required me to attach a copy of my valid ID for employment confirmation. After signing the job offer and sending a copy of my Employment Authorization (front and back), "Decan Ricard" instructed me to join them on Google Hangouts for a briefing.

This made me suspicious, as companies usually arrange for an interview or briefing via phone call or video call on a professional platform, not Google Hangouts. During the briefing, "Decan Ricard" sent me a picture of a check for $5000 to set up my home office and insisted that I deposit it and send her the receipt. When I tried to deposit it, my bank closed my account, confirming my suspicion that it was a scam.

To my surprise, I received a similar email today, with the same pattern. It was an interview for a job I didn't apply for and included the same Screening test/Interview Questions attachment. This experience made me want to report this scam to prevent others from falling into the same trap.

Scammer's email [email protected]
Victim Location MN 55448, USA
Type of a scam Employment

I was contacted for a fully remote position as a customer service rep and executive assistant on ZipRecruiter. Initial interview was on skype and was super sketchy and using the names and likeness of people from the company website but they were obviously pretending. Seems like the beginning of a check scam.

Scammer's phone 7072196738
Scammer's website Not applicable- unsure
Scammer's address Tampa, FL, USA
Scammer's email [email protected]
Victim Location FL 33607, USA
Type of a scam Employment

They contacted me about a job, which i believed was valid while job searching for months. And they gave me a faulty $2450 check and my bank froze my account because of this.

Scammer's website Linkedin
Scammer's email [email protected]
Victim Location FL 33579, USA
Type of a scam Employment

I was interviewed on Ring Central via messaging for this position. Next day i was sent a job offer and the day after i was sent a check with these instructions.

Scammer's address [email protected] [email protected], TX, USA
Scammer's email [email protected]
Victim Location FL 33770, USA
Type of a scam Employment

Pretended to be a gaming studio from Texas, promised to pay $45 an hour. Did an interview via email and never spoke with them face to face. I proceeded by giving them a signed "offer letter" and my driver's license. They then proceeded to tell me they will mail me a check for a mini office set up. The check came from Minnesota and then the FedEx letter was posted from Indiana. I was suspicious so I called the bank that the check was labeled from. They said the routing number and account numbers were switched and I have not heard back from the "recruiter". They even had an "hr department" that pretended to put me in their system. I did not send any other personal information.

Scammer's phone 951-638-9683
Scammer's email [email protected]
Victim Location FL 33556, USA
Type of a scam Employment

I am a retired military veteran and my spouse sent me a job listing from a Facebook community group titled "Hire Veterans". The job listing was for an online work-from-home job conducting data entry for the healthcare company Cigna.

I replied to the post and was contacted by a person named Julie Renee Mcabee to download the mobile chat app "Signal" to conduct an online interview. Once I had the app, I was contacted by a person who acted as a hiring manager named Philip Jordan. After a series of questions about why I was qualified for the job, I was informed that I was hired and that I needed to sign a contract and send a copy of my driver's license, which I did. Afterwards it was explained to me that I would receive at $1,100 check via email for use to purchase an Apple laptop, a printer and some software, which I did. I was to print it out, sign the back and deposit it via mobile check deposit, which I did. The check had the “Cracker Barrel” logo on it and was titled “CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC., LEBANON, TENNESSEE. The check ultimately processed. I was then instructed to send $1,100 to the email address [email protected] from my Zelle account. My first few attempts to do so were held up by my bank for security review. He was very adamant that I call customer service and tell them that it was urgent to send it through and tell them it is “Family”. I ultimately convinced them to remove the review and send the $1,100. He always required a snapshot of the transfer from my phone as proof that it was sent.

The following day, he informed me that he would need an additional $600 for software updates that would make my job easier. That amount shortly increased to $800 and I sent a Zelle payment. He then said he needed $700 more because the minimum transfer the bank would process was $1,500. I sent that amount. I received another check in the same manner and I deposited it; the check processed. He then said he would need additional amounts totaling $3,100 to cover shipping and some sign-on bonuses. It started as $400 and then as soon as I sent a Zelle payment, he would tell me he needed $500 more and that I would get an extra bonus. Once I sent that, he needed $700 more and this continued until we reached $3,100. I did receive another check in the same manner totaling $3,100, which processed.

During the process I questioned him multiple times whether this was a scam or why he couldn’t pay Amy Adams directly, to which he would only reply that I approached him and that many other people wanted the job. I called Cigna to verify his employment and they told me it was a scam; when I asked him about it, he said he was an independent contractor and would not show up in their database. I asked if we could talk on the phone, and he said he was prohibited.

I ultimately read about similar scams like this where the check will ultimately be denied by the bank fraud team and I will be out the money. I told him we were finished and that I knew it was a scam. He was very perturbed and said things like “Quit acting like a woman. You call yourself a veteran?” I started a fraud claim with my bank and now I am posting this experience everywhere I can. During the process he was very responsive and contacted me as early as 6:30 AM and as late as 10:00 PM.