Update 10/4/16 – This was originally posted a few years ago, but I'm adding an update because a reader, Mary, was recently victim to this same scam, and it's changed a bit. Please read her story below so you'll know what to watch out for:
It started with an email from F5 Networks requesting a job interview for a work from home data entry clerk position. It said they pay $20 per hour during training, and $25 per hour after that. The hours were flexible. It sounded like a great opportunity.
They gave me a verification code and told me to reply to the interview manager, Ryan Lee, with my code and my available times for an interview. I did so. About a week later “Ryan” emailed me back with a date and time for a phone interview. Before that time came, he emailed me again to say that we would be doing the interview via Hangouts because he was multi-tasking multiple interviews at the same time. So I went through an entire interview with him on Hangouts, it took about an hour. He said they would contact me with my results soon.
The following business day I received an email stating that I got the job and they would send me my paperwork within 1-2 business days. The next day I received an email with 3 attachments; a Non-disclosure agreement, Job Offer Letter, and Terms & Agreements. These all looked very legitimate. I even showed them to my husband and we were very excited because of the benefits offered in the Job Offer Letter.
I signed all the documents and sent them back via scanner. I even included a copy of my Driver's License because they needed proof of address. So the next day I received an email from the “finance department” saying that they were going to send me start up funds to purchase all the equipment I would need to do this job. The email included a list of this equipment.
They asked me who I banked with and how long I had been with them. I replied with the answers and by the end of the day they emailed me again with an image of a check, front and back, and asked me to deposit it via mobile banking, taking the picture of the check from the image on my desktop. Then I was told to send the confirmation that I had deposited it.
I have never used mobile banking before so I thought maybe this was common, for people to send just images of checks in emails. So after talking with my husband about it, we both thought it would be alright. Well I made the deposit like they said and sent them a confirmation. They told me to let them know when the funds were available.
That morning I checked the bank and thought they were available and told “F5”. Come to find out that my account is actually on hold because this check was a counterfeit. Of course I didn't tell “F5” this, but they sent me another email saying to get most of the cash from the check out of my account and then go deposit at another bank. They included a name and account number. I could keep $150 as a sign on bonus.
After I completed this, then the vendor would be able to ship me my equipment. To say the least I am very upset by this. Luckily my bank caught the check before anything else was done. I can't believe that someone would go to such lengths. I was emailing them back and forth for about two weeks, had an interview, and all their paperwork was very convincing.
I'm not sure where they got my information in the first place. I have applied for a lot of work at home positions as of late so I thought it was one of them, but now I'm not so sure. These people never asked for any personal information except my name and address. That's why I thought it was legitimate.
While this scam has been so serious that people have wound up in jail because of it, that did not happen to Mary. However, her bank did lock her out of her own account for ten days because she deposited a counterfeit check — even though this was not her fault. So there are always some sort of repercussions with this one, and the scammers get away with it. 🙁
Some More Information On This Scam And How It Occasionally Plays Out
You'll get a check for some bogus reason. Sometimes it will come from someone saying you've won the lottery or won a prize in a contest. Or, perhaps you see an ad for a work at home job or secret shopper position in the newspaper or on the internet that you sign up for, and the check comes as your payment. Regardless of how you got it, the check will look like the real deal. It won't look fake at all, which is why so many people fall for this. It will have an address, account numbers, bank information, etc. Some of these checks even have watermarks on them.
Getting a check for winning a prize (from a giveaway you know you've entered!) or getting a check for work you've performed isn't always that unusual, but here's where you need to be suspicious — If the person sending you the check tells you that you have to cash it at your bank and then wire them part of the money to cover fees, service charges, taxes, or something else. They tell you that you can deposit the rest into your own account and keep it.
You may be expecting a check if you've signed up for some fraudulent secret shopper program or work at home job. But keep in mind that reputable, legitimate mystery shopping or work at home companies are not going to pay you for more than you've earned and then ask you to wire them part of the money.
The part where they ask you to cash the check and then wire them part of the money should always raise a huge red flag, no matter what the reason behind your receiving the check. Following through with those instructions are how you'll wind up in jail.
How This is Illegal
The check you receive is of course a bad check. The people who sent it to you either printed off fake checks using fake information, account numbers, bank names, etc. or they stole the checks from someone else. They don't want to give you money at all, they want you to give it to them — illegally.
So what happens is you take the check to your bank, cash it for the amount the other party is asking you to and deposit the rest into your account. Then, you wire the money you cashed out for to this other bank account. In many cases, the people doing this won't be in the United States (or whatever country you happen to be in) so you'll be wiring the money out of the country. It might take the bank a few days or even a few weeks, but they will determine that the check was no good.
Bottom line, you can go to federal prison for this because you're the one the bank is going to hold responsible — not just for having given you this money that you wired away that wasn't there to start with, but also for depositing a fraudulent check. You are responsible for all checks you deposit, no matter what. And the other party, the ones who actually sent you this check? They are going to be pretty hard to track down. Remember, the money you wired off was probably sent to another bank out of the country.
How to Protect Yourself From the Check Cashing Scam
First of all, always be suspicious of any unsolicited check you receive. If you get a check saying you won some lottery or giveaway, ask yourself if you remember even entering. Also, check the name on the check. Do you know who it is? Is it a company you've heard of? Even if it does come from a source you know, it still pays to be suspicious. Remember, it's very easy for scammers to print off checks saying whatever they want them to say.
In almost all cases, if you've won a prize for more than $600 from an actual contest or giveaway you've entered, you'll receive an official looking affidavit first notifying you of your win. You'll probably have to take this to a notary and then return it before you get any sort of check in the mail.
Also, you should be on immediate alert if the check comes with the instructions I've described above — asking you to deposit part of the check into your own account and then wire the rest to someplace else. That's the dead giveaway right there that someone is trying to rip you off. Don't deposit the check.
If You're Not Sure
If you're not sure about the check you receive, here are some things you can do to verify that it's probably fraudulent. First of all, contact the bank that issued the check. Confirm that the name on the check matches the account number, and ask whether or not the funds are sufficient for you to cash it. The bank should be able to give you this information. There's also a chance they will know if the check was stolen because people can report stolen checks to their banks.
If the check comes from a source you're familiar with, like a well-known company claiming you've won a prize, you should also be able to contact them before depositing the check to be sure that you did actually win something from them.
It's hard not to want to believe that something like this could be true, especially if you are very desperate for cash, but by being too gullible you could ultimately become much more desperate than you already are because you'll be in a much, much worse position financially. The bank will want this money back, and they'll expect you to give it to them out of your own pocket.
How to File a Complaint
If you're in the U.S. and this has happened to you, you can report it to the FTC here, or you can call them at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). You can also report the incident to your state attorney general. Here's a list of attorney generals by state.
Same thing happened to me this week, and i just deposited the check yesterday… What should i do now?
I have the same problem, I start looking for a job and then someone emailed me that I’m hired, and my first assignment is that deposit the check that they going to send me, luckily my friend was had the same experience and told me it’s a scam, but after that they start texting me and emailing me from 4 different number, and sending me checks, I don’t know how they are, and I don’t know how to get rid of them.
I already deposited 3 checks and cashed it out and deposited to different bank of them. I’m so worried, what should I do now?
Went to jail trying to cash PCH’S CHECK
I’m going through the same thing. I received a check for a little over $2600. Was suspicious and called the company, sure enough it was a scam the company said. I reported and filed a complaint already. Now I’m just not sure what to do with the check? Can I just throw it away?
I’ve experienced the same. Please tell me where you filled a complaint?
I just had this job scam happen to me. It is a legit company…I checked on google. Houzz design inc. The person who contacted me is real…but why would the owner of such a large company contact me directly? Even thoughI was a little weirded out by the contact and interview method…I thought maybe this new tech way was common for some. Not HR? I did the “interview via Google Hangouts (text). Needless to say I “got the job”. Training is via text too. I did “training” for two days when the check comes. I wasn’t asked to cash and send money to anyone…at least I didn’t get that far in the scam. The check was supposed to be my sign on bonus and my money for my first week of training. Mind you my pay is $32 dollars an hour. The rest was for equipment for my “mini office”. I still have this out of country check and is afraid to cash it. I dont know how or where to start a complaint or case against these people.
I wanted to comment, because I fell for this scam as well. Luckily, I was smart enough to contact HR during my “interview” with the company. I didn’t use the link in their emails to navigate to their website. Instead, I just Googled F5 and found their real website. I called HR and immediately the HR rep was able to confirm that I was not interviewing with their company and they are aware of this scam. They are putting together information with their legal team so they can pursue these scammers at some point in the future – so if you have any information that you believe is relevant you should forward it along to the real F5.
The crazy thing about this scam is that whomever is behind this is impersonating real people that work for F5. Ryan Lee is actually someone that works for the real F5 company, but that is not the person you’re speaking with for F5 Networks (the sham company). I did all my research on this company before I interviewed and nothing related to this scam came up. I even looked on here and didn’t see anything (my interview took place during September 2015). I will say that there were red flags all over this and my gut feeling initially told me not to bother, but I was so desperate to find a new job I didn’t listen.
Here are some tips: 1) Never directly apply to a job using job boards (Even reputable boards like Indeed or Monster) IF you can, always apply directly on the employer’s website. Always research — Chances are that if you find a listing for a position on a job board that’s not listed on the employer’s website then it’s fake. 2) Never conduct a job interview via chat. There are legit companies that only offer phone interviews or video interviews via (Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Skype). However, I’ve never heard of a legit employer doing an interview via chat (text) only. That’s weird. 3) Always check the email addresses of the recruiters or hiring managers. If they are using a yahoo, gmail, etc (personal) email extension they more than likely don’t work for the company. 4) It doesn’t heart to contact HR to ensure you’re actually speaking to a representative of the company. DO NOT use the email address or contact information found in the emails. Instead look up the company in the white pages or Google the company. You can also check sites like BBB.org. 5) Always ask questions during your interview. It’s unacceptable for a recruiter or hiring manager to not ask if you have questions or not be able to answer your questions.
Hope this helps!
Edit – I interviewed during September 2016. Based on the comments I can see that this scam has been going on for a while. Luckily I didn’t give any personal information beyond my name and address to these scammers. I saw this post on the front page of the blog today, wish I would have seen it there or had it come up in your search bar last month.
Thanks so much to everyone for chiming in here and sharing your stories. I am sorry this happened to you, but please know that your warnings will help prevent it happening to others. Again, thanks!
I was nearly snared by the very same job with the people spoofing F5 Networks.
I applied for the Remote Data Entry position on 08/31/16 and was contacted to schedule an interview on 09/06/16. The interview took place on 09/12/16 and I received notification via email on the morning of 09/13/16 that I’d been hired. It was also stated that I would receive the necessary paperwork within the next couple of days that would need to be filled out carefully.
As you might guess, I was elated. I went to the very reputable Work At Home website upon which I found the ad for the job, intending to send an email to the site owner to thank her for posting the ad that led to me finding my ideal job. There wasn’t an email address on her Contact Page, so instead I went to Twitter with plans to contact her there. Before I could do so, however, I had the idea that I should also start following the Twitter feed of my new employer. Imagine my shock when the very first Tweet visible on the F5 Careers Twitter feed read:
The @F5Networks “Remote Data Entry” job opportunity is a scam, do not apply or share personal information with sites publicizing this job.
I thought I’d done my due diligence. I researched F5 Networks on Glassdoor, the email address(es) from which I received the information looked legitimate, and I’ve had job interviews via chat before (had one just a couple of weeks ago, actually, with Needle.com) so even that didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me.
I was heartbroken, and then I got mad. I went to the actual F5 Networks website to obtain the email address to their corporate office and, for the next couple of days afterward, corresponded with someone there working with the Legal and Security team to help investigate those who started the scam and hopefully make it extremely difficult for them to do this again. When the paperwork arrived for the “job” on the morning following the interview, I immediately forwarded it to Legal and Security and was advised to have no further contact with the scammers…as if I would, even though I wanted SO badly to tell them off.
DO NOT WORK FOR NEEDLE. They are an extremely shady company. I am currently there and this is my last week. Everyone is pretty much getting a slap in the face and a HUGE pay cut. We are going from an average of $17/hr (up to $25/hr during the holidays) to just $2/hr! That is insane. And to top it off, the change was very sudden. Whenever there are questions about anything, they will take weeks to answer you and then they give you the run around. The company is terrible and I highly suggest you stay away.
This happened to my landlord who refused to listen to me that it was a scam.
They advertised that they wanted to rent a room in america, they were an international student that would be starting school soon and they’d send the check for deposit+first month’s rent via mail. They refused to send a copy of ID or to video chat, they refused to say what city the college they were attending was in and didn’t know it’s address. I said don’t do it, that’s a scam. So she gave her address anyway for them to mail the check and they mailed it, signed by their “american sponsor”, not them. The check looked light printing and smudged and the bank didn’t exist when I googled it, so I said this is obviously fake. I tried to get her to call them, but she said I was being too suspicious.
Then the “international student” e-mailed her (refused to speak on phone) and said oops I gave you too much, can you cash it and send some back to me so I can afford my ticket. I said this is a SCAM, don’t cash it and don’t send her money! So of course she cashes it because she thinks i’m being too judgmental to the poor international student. I begged her to wait a few days for the check to clear before she withdrew any money, so she did.
So the bank calls her 3 days later saying this check is fake!! She called the “bank” that it came from and they weren’t a bank, they were a processing/manufacturing facility and they had been aware of the scammer the entire time and told her she should have called them first!
I’d love to give people the benefit of the doubt, but when it comes to money, you can’t do that these days. There are too many people who seem legitimate but they are scammers. Be careful!! If anything about a transaction seems suspicious, it probably is!!!
I recently received a check from a scam company I tried to cash it not knowing it was a scam and the store didn’t cash it but are trying to put fraud on me can I get into trouble if it wasn’t cashed .
I’m not sure. You may want to check with your local law enforcement, explain what happened, and see. Sorry this happened to you!
Same happened to me and I deposited the check. The bank blocked my account for now. What will happen to me now?
I was scammed by one of those secret shopper sites. Actually I’m an online student and received a check that had a schools name on it. I really thought it came from my school and tried to cash it. Of course I was refused and found out it was fake that way. Can I go to prison for false pretense?
I doubt it, Angela. I think that probably happens a lot … the bank probably already knew you didn’t realize.
so some ppl owed us money and for he gave me a check with my name on it but it was for a company and never work there in my Life and stupid of me try to cash at the bank they called the police and they came over and was asking where we got this check and gave the name of the ppl come to find out theres no one that name now I have to go to court and I”m scared that I might be locked up I have never got in trouble with the Law for over 14yrs but is afraid that they might judge me from my past you know
Thank goodness I found your website and read about this scam. I did receive a check that’s supposedly going to be for a laptop and software to use in working for this company. I questioned the “team” hiring person and she said I had to send the money to the vendor, not them. Off and on for over a month she kept giving me the run around and never really answered my questions in any way that made sense to me. At that point I figured it was a scam but hadn’t seen anything online about any scame regarding this company. When I got it, there’s no name, address or anything but a stamped signature and an account number so, assuming at that point it was probably some sort of scam, I’ve been putting off doing anything with the check.
I will definitely get in touch with oDesk and let them know also.
Thanks so much for this valuable information.
Charlene
I’m glad you found this, too! Yes you are correct in thinking it’s a scam. I wish those people could be stopped. Definitely report to oDesk, too.
For those not familiar with how they operate I am sharing an email I received this morning:
Master Shopper ✆ agent. recruitment@ mit. 12:55 AM (9 hours ago)
to me
* You have been selected for an assignment as a Mystery Shopping in your area.
* You will earn $200 being a Mystery Shopping.
* Your employment packet will include funds for the shopping.
* A full job description will be sent to you before your assignment.
Payment check or money order would be in a certain amount which you would
be required to cash a your Bank, deduct your salary, and have the rest used for
the evaluation at the store that would be given to you for evaluate.
We would like you to participate because it’s fun and rewarding. After you send
your info below, we will get back to you shortly with an assignment when one is available.
Provide the following details if you interested.
Full Name:
Contact Address(Not Po.Box):
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Phone Number (Cell/Home):
Current Occupation:
Gender/Age:
Email Address:
As a Mystery Shopping you will Work and Have Fun at the same time, shopping
for pleasure, and you only need work 2-3 hours twice in a week. Please note that
is a part time Job. We await your good response, Thank you!
Note: Candidate from USA & EUROPE are allowed to apply for this Offer.
BEST WISHED And REGARDS
Ms. MOLLY CUMMINS
Anna is right the best prevention is education…
Thank you for sharing that Jim. That’s a great example of one to stay away from.
Something similar happened to me when I posted an ad selling a car hauler trailer. A guy answered my ad from out of the country and told me some bull story about someone owing him money and this person was forwarding the check to me to take out for the car hauler and then I was to send him the rest. LMAO the check was for $6000 I was only selling the car hauler for $2000. I was fortunate that I saw through their scam but I did play along with them until I got the check. I will say also they are good at their craft. The check they sent was a cashiers check drawn on Bank of America and it looked perfect in every way. I was told this is why they are so successful as it fools even the tellers when you deposit it, its that good but once it goes through the system they catch it but by then if it worked right they have a good chunk of your money. A lot of these people work out of Nigeria as the laws there are so lax they can get away with it. They must make money at it or because I get at least 3 or 4 emails a week with some kind of scam or another. If they send out 100 emails and get even 1 or 2 of those they are doing good.
A friend of mine once got something like this…or an offer. She called me excited that a Mystery Shopping Company was asking her to do a shop wiring money!! It was like you said, she was to send a portion of it as a wire transfer and the rest was hers for doing the shop as a mystery shopper for Western Union I believe.
Someone is always out to take advantage of us!
Yeah, it’s hard to believe people are still falling for this scam, but they are. Some people just get a check in the mail and don’t think twice about doing whatever is asked to get the money, even if the instructions seem odd. It’s really sad to think people take advantage of others in this way, especially those who are already so desperate 🙁
I’ve read the experiences of so many people on work-at-home mom message boards that got burned by these scams. It’s heartbreaking for someone desperate to find work to not only get scammed, but also get into legal trouble.