Looking for a job online? Watch out for this hiring scam – KOLO

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Stacy Nauyoks lives in Carson City and decided to apply for a remote job through Kelly Services.

“I just wanted a job to make money to go see my boy,” she said.

Her son is 18 years old and will graduate from boot camp and enter the U.S. Navy in September.

She needed some money to travel to his gradution.

But Nauyoks job search quickly took a turn for the worse when she got a Facebook message from someone claming to be a hiring manager from Kelly Services.

“I thought it was normal because I don’t do much social media, so I thought ‘oh maybe,’” Nauyoks explained.

She answered a few basic questions on Facebook Messenger and an app called Signal.

“Do you have any felonies? Are you free from drugs? do you have any work for reference?”

But soon, the questions got more personal.

“Routing number and account number. And then she said, ‘can I have your username and password to verify that it’s you?’,” Nauyoks said.

Nauyoks shared her banking information, social security number and a photo of her driver’s license, among other things. She said she was desperate to get a job and was thinking of her son.

“He’s like I miss you guys, I want to come home. I miss you please come to my graduation,” she said her son shared in a letter.

The scammer cleaned out her account before she realized it was a scam. While she was able to freeze her bank account the scam is far from over.

The Better Business Bureau says Nauyok is at high risk for identity theft.

“Identity theft is anytime someone uses identity, your personal information and is an imposter of you,” said Joe Sirorine, Community Outreach Coordinator for Better Business Bureau Mountain West.

He says employment scams are more common since the pandemic began when many people started looking for remote work.

“From young to old they will hone their skills and target who they want to target,” Sirorine said.

Kelly Services said in a statement that they are aware of these types of scams and will “attempt to uncover the source”.

They also say they will never ask for banking information prior to employment.

As for Nauyoks, her accounts are frozen, inculding her credit card and her unemployment check will be delayed.

But she says the hardest part is not knowing if she will see her son graduate.

“To have to write to him and say ‘sorry son, your mom made a mistake we can’t come’… I can’t do it.”

If you believe you are the victim of an online scam, call local law enforcement or contact the FTC.

Copyright 2022 KOLO. All rights reserved.

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