MAITLAND, Fla. – In April, more than 400,000 Floridians were unemployed, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
As a result, scammers are looking to exploit job seekers.
Last year, job scams ranked among the highest fraud categories, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Experts say the situation is worsening, urging job seekers to be vigilant.
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Elissa Murray experienced a job scam firsthand.
“I had heard that there were job scams, but I had never seen a story about anyone who personally had one,” she said.
Murray posted her resume on various sites while searching for a work-from-home job.
When she received an email stating, “We came across your resume on CareerBuilder’s database and would like to invite you to an online interview,” she thought she had found a legitimate opportunity.
“When you see the emails and things, they’re very authentic looking,” Murray told News 6. “There’s nothing there to alert you that this was going to be a problem,” she explained.
She agreed to an interview with someone pretending to be from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
She was sent a Microsoft Teams link, an interview code, and told that Dewayne Prescott, the assistant Human Resources manager, would be conducting the interview, according to the email.
“It was very authentic,” she said. “I’ve been to several interviews in my life, and this one had all the right questions.”
Later, Murray received a letter of employment informing her that she had secured a position as a customer service representative.
Subsequently, she was sent a check for nearly $2,500 as a signing bonus and to purchase a laptop.
However, when she deposited the check, her bank notified her that it was fraudulent.
“When I found out the check was fraudulent, the first thing I thought was, ‘Is this a money laundering thing?’” she recalled.
Typically, scammers send a check, have the victim deposit it, and then create a reason for the victim to return the funds before the bank realizes the check is bad.
Murray’s bank caught the scam before that could happen.
Job scams are big business for criminals.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, job and business opportunities were the third most common scams in 2024, with Americans losing $764.8 million.
This figure represents an increase of nearly $250 million from 2023.
Danny Jenkins, CEO of Maitland-based cybersecurity company ThreatLocker, emphasized the importance of verifying job offers.
“When it’s someone on the other end of a Teams conversation, it’s much easier to scam you,” he said. “Find the company’s number independently, call and verify the person you’re talking to is an actual employee.”
He also recommended investigating the company beyond just checking for a website. Ensure they are registered with the state where they operate.
Murray says it could have been so much worse.
“I was fortunate that I didn’t give him more information. It would have been easy to do,” she said.
Remember, don’t fall for the scheme and don’t get ripped-off, but if you do, email us at theinvestigators@wkmg.com.