A Westlock woman became the target of scammers after she replied to a fraudulent job ad that appeared in an area newspaper.
And the emergence of job scams locally has the RCMP warning employment seekers to watch out for phony recruitment ads.
Fraudsters target job applicants by offering phony positions and then try to bilk them out of money by asking them to return a portion of an “accidental” overpayment, police say.
RCMP Cpl. Josee Forest with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said scammers usually place a job ad either online, or in newspapers, and advertise for various positions to find potential victims.
Westlock resident Sirena Rasmussen said she responding to a job ad in the Athabasca Advocate for an in-home caregiver last month.
After some communication by phone and e-mail she said she was offered the position to care for an 82-year-old woman. She was suspicious, but said she was certain it was a fraud when she was received a huge cheque.
“He said to check my mailbox because he sent a money order and said to cash it to pay me for a week in advance to guarantee that I wouldn’t look for another job or anything,” Rasmussen said.
Eventually a $3,750 cheque showed up in Rasmussen’s name, payable from Toronto’s Luminato Festival. At that point she contacted police, who advised her to destroy it.
When contacted festival spokesperson Ashley Ballantyne said the organization’s banking account had been compromised. She had been made aware of several instances of cheque fraud, but was unaware of any specific incidents.
On national level, Forest said this type of fraud is prevalent. In 2015 police received more than 2,000 complaints of job scams, with 674 victims losing over $5.3 million to crooks.
Forest said it’s not uncommon for bum cheques to come from an unaffiliated organization. The purpose of the scam is for the victim to attempt to cash the cheque and return “accidental” overpayment before it gets bounced.
“The cheque will look like it’s clearing and the people will send the money, and then it bounces back,” Forest said.
Police warn anyone who is contacted for a job and gets paid prior to starting should take notice.
“If they’re contacted by a company that wants to hire them, be suspicious if they send a cheque,” Forest said.
“If it’s coming from a place that has nothing to do with the job, also, if they request money back, that’s a telltale sign.”
Anyone who is targeted by the scam, but doesn’t lose any money should report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
If money is lost, the incident should be reported to police, in addition to the anti-fraud centre.
Forest said while victims, whether they’ve lost money or not, can feel embarrassed, reporting the incidents is key stopping the bad guys.
“We have an operational unit that can act on some of the scams. Some examples include phone numbers can be disrupted, or e-mails can be disrupted by us,” she said.
“It’s important if you’re a victim to let police know.”
