SAN ANTONIO, Texas — U.S. Army veteran and San Antonio native Stephanie Bennett was looking to use the skills she developed in the military for a civilian job.
“My background is in logistics,” she said.
She thought it would be a great fit when a trucking company contacted her about a work from home job.
“I received an email one day and they were saying they saw my resume,” Bennet said. “I think it was $23 an hour, Monday through Friday, work from home. That is what really did it for me. If I can work from home, that’s even better.”
But a phone interview made her suspicious after she called the number back.
“I inquired about the number not working and they were saying the only way for us to communicate has to be through email,” Bennett said.
Then they asked her to give them access to her bank account, so they could train her on invoicing.
“I was like, 'Yeah, this doesn’t seem legit,'” Bennett said.
“At any point, if they ask you for money to run a background check, a credit check, any kind of indication they want to access to your wallet, that’s the tipoff right there it’s going to be a scam,” said Jason Meza of the Better Business Bureau.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) saw job schemes in Texas triple from March through June 2022.
“That’s the lure cyber criminals are using now, to say, 'Listen, you can do the job in the comfort of your home and any time you want,'" Meza said. “'Great pay, instantly qualify, no prerequisites.'"
Bennett said schemers contacted her three times in April about jobs.
“This is kind of scary that this keeps occurring,” she said.
You can both lose money and open yourself to identity theft with these schemes.
“You are releasing a lot of sensitive data into the world thinking you’re going to get a job and in the end you don’t,” Meza said.
Each time, Bennett said, she found red flags when she researched the company.
“Google it,” Bennett advised. “We have the information at our fingertips so it’s all out there. Call to verify. The Better Business Bureau, if it’s an official business, it’s going to be on the BBB website.”
Other red flags that a job offer is a scheme include:
- Vague information about the position
- Asking you for money for training or background checks
- Telling you to cash a check to pay for materials
- Poor grammar
- Communicating only through text or email
“Are they answering my question about the company, about the position?” Meza said. “If they are very vague and general, that should be your first tipoff that they don’t know much about the job itself.”
Bennett is still job-searching. She said she hopes a legitimate work offer comes soon.