When Sandi Bennett got two separate phone calls with at home job opportunities from Amazon and E-Bay, the former Bellsouth, AT&T employee thought she hit the jobs jackpot.
She was told the employment opportunity would be all online and the starting pay was $27 per hour.
"This sounded like the perfect job for me," said Bennet who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
The call, from 813-430-0184, was flagged by California-based You Mail Inc., a free Robocall screening service.
Company CEO Alex Quilici told News 6 the calls “preying on people desperately looking for work.”
YouMail’s staff has collected recordings of the bogus messages including the one that connected with
Bennett’s personal cellphone.
The recording, from a woman identifying herself as Sarah, offers work “using Amazon.com.”
The pitch claims the company is recruiting people "in your area to work online with Amazon.”
Quilici said the scheme is all about getting your money for a job that doesn’t exist. It's what he calls “dialing for dollars.”
“They drive people to websites where there is more of a pitch," Quilici said. "And where they just need a small 'fee' to send you an educational package to help get you one of these jobs or a recruiting fee to connect you to the hiring folks.”
Bennett called News 6 after getting the calls because she wanted to make sure she wasn’t the victim of a fraudulent offer. Her instincts were right, it was a fake.
An Amazon spokesperson said the similarity with the impostor calls ends when the caller asks for money.
“We are in touch daily with thousands of people who are interested in working at Amazon. Our recruiters who contact candidates — whether it be via text, call, or email — will never ask for banking information, or request an enrollment fee.”
The company told News 6 bogus job offers presented on behalf of Amazon can be reported here.
“We actively investigate reported employment scams, and as a result, dozens of fraudulent recruiting websites have been taken down. We’re also assisting federal law enforcement in their efforts to investigate and prosecute perpetrators,” the spokesperson said.
Amazon does offer work from home positions at www.amazon.jobs. But remember, the company will never ask you to pay a fee or buy a jobs kit.
For more information on Youmail’s free service or the latest intercepted scams visit YouMail.com.