Work at Home scam
Those of you who’ve followed me for a while know that I work in I.T.
For over 10 years, I’ve also worked in the Financial Services industry. My mom’s a career banker, so I guess you could say it’s in my blood.
I’ve seen a lot scams in my time and I’ve seen the controls we put in place to alert and mitigate. You could say it’s shaped my approach to I.T. so that I’m always risk-aware. I’ve been told I think like an auditor – and I take that as a compliment.
I’ve been following some virus activity of late that’s at the same time fascinating and worrisome. So worrisome in fact that I decided to interrupt my motherhood blog with “computer-stuff”. I do urge you to read on, and promise that I won’t make it complicated.
The Virus
‘Back in the day’ viruses caused catastrophic damage – wiped out hard drives, destroyed documents, etc. Today’s viruses a stealthy, hiding invisibly while doing the “baddies” bidding.
They’re still spread generally the same way though – a user opens a malicious file and *ta-da* we have an infected PC.
The type of virus I’m talking about in this scenario though, sits silently on the user’s PC, logging every key pressed and transmitting the data back to those “baddies”. The PC, now under “baddie control” is now considered a bot or a zombie.
The Theft
If the zombie PC happens to be one used for online banking or to process ACH fund transfers (for example for payroll, or to pay vendors), the usernames and passwords associated with their online banking accounts are now in the hands of some pretty clever people up to no good.
The “baddies” change the password and email address associated with the account.
They recruit “mules” – people to receive the money fraudulently.
In the case of ACH (like a wire transfer) Fraud, they create transfers for a number of FALSE employees/recipients. These transfers go to accounts operated by the mules.
The Scope
Companies far and wide are being hit with this ACH Fraud – and that INCLUDES Government agencies!
Companies are being hit with losses to the tune of US$200,000 and more. And while there are an increasing number of reports throughout the US from Maine to DC, there are reports coming from Mexico and further abroad now.
The Recruitment Scam – Don’t become a mule!
Not all of the mules are complicit criminals, although some of them are facing fraud charges and real jail time for the roles they have played. The scammers are clever people, and this is big business.
Here’s where you need to be aware of.
These guys are posting jobs online. According to some mules claiming innocence, they’re using Monster and CareerBuilder and other legitimate avenues to recruit out-of-work people who may be so grateful for work that they overlook some otherwise suspicious details.
They’re posting work-at-home opportunities, where you need to setup a bank account to be paid via ACH – Direct Account Transfers.
In one case, the person claims to have been “hired” by a company to manage a project team elsewhere on the globe, and “for expediency” was responsible for transferring funds to pay these guys.
The funds had been stolen as part of this ACH Fraud scheme, and the person “hired” by the company unwittingly became part of the whole sordid deal. As the recipient of funds transferred online, he’s easily identified by the bank and now faces charges related to the theft of thousands of dollars.
In another possible scenario, the “employee” could receive a large sum of money in their account and then be told that a payroll error had occurred and that the excess funds need to be transferred back – of course the funds are being forwarded to criminal elements involved in the fraud, but by the time the “employee” wises up, it’s too late.
BE AWARE!
- No reputable company is going to ask you to forward funds through your account on their behalf.
- If a company tells you they’ve overpaid you and you need to refund them the difference by wiring funds to a specified account, go straight to your bankers and inquire about reversing the transaction and confirm the original sender.
I know a lot of us are looking for ways to supplement our incomes in these lean times, but don’t ever go for anything that’s going to call for someone using an account in your name, or for them creating an account on your behalf.
Also, this fraud originated from a computer virus.
PC users – ALWAYS use an antivirus (no Macs are not as susceptible to viruses)
There are good free ones out there, and great free online scanners out there as well.
If there’s enough interest I can do another post on those. Leave me a comment or send me an email to let me know.
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About Me
A 30-ish mother of 3 and unintentional entrepreneur, I started my own IT Consultancy firm after layoffs at my old job. I balance the world of Corporate IT with my life as Manager of the education, health and well-being of my children.
Blogging from the Caribbean, I give tech advice to moms and write about raising 3 kids under 10, one of whom has been diagnosed with Aspergers.