Tucson man loses money over fake job posting

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Cyber criminals are impersonating legitimate companies and recruiting for fake jobs on well-known job websites.

But instead of hiring you, they’re looking to steal your money and personal information.

A Tucson man lost hundreds of dollars and his sense of security.

Both the FBI and FTC talked with 13 News in the hope of warning job seekers.

Thousands of people like Raymond Francis have lost money, totaling upwards of $500 million per year.

At first, Francis was ecstatic when his resume caught the attention of online headhunters. He received a text message from a recruiter for an international technology company.

“They had my full name. They were like, ‘This is Raymond Francis right’? I said yes it is and they were like, ‘We want you to talk to our hiring manager Keith Fernandez,’” Francis said.

The 39-year-old has cerebral palsy and a work-from-home job sounded ideal.

Francis then received an invitation for a text interview.

“It seemed perfectly legitimate. Because he had all the standard questions that you would ask during an actual interview,” Francis said.

The next day, Francis was told he got the job. They set him up on Teams and sent him official-looking hiring paperwork.

Francis said he was then asked to send the company $500 for equipment to track his remote work.

“He was like ‘I’m sorry, the cost of the program has gone up. Can you send another $450?,’” Francis said.

Francis ended up sending $950 total.

He said the package never came. So, they sent him a video of someone at FedEx.

“And then he’s like, ‘The package weighed too much. Can you send another $450?’ through Zelle to this person,” Francis said.

That’s when Francis got suspicious, and proactively reached out to Telstra, the organization he thought hired him.

In an email to Francis, Telstra cyber security wrote, “This is a fraud/scam. In no way would Telstra approach potential staff in this manner, and we would certainly never ask for information or any sort of financial outlay.”

13 News reached out to Telstra corporate offices based in Australia.

A spokesperson told us that Francis was never an employee in their system, “Unfortunately, it is common practice for scammers to impersonate large organizations or well-known brands in this way.”

“And they’re incredibly persuasive. The same way other people go to work every day, scammers go to work every day figuring how to talk people out of their money,” said Rhonda Perkins with the FTC.

“We always tell people don’t ever pay to get a job, and don’t send money back to someone who says they sent you too much money,” Perkins said.

Perkins said more than 50,000 people reported job scams to her office last year, losing an average of $1,700 each.

Paul Sparke with the FBI Tucson office said artificial intelligence is helping criminals copycat websites and fine-tune their scams with improved spelling and grammar.

“Those hints are going away. So we really have to be more proactive in trying to verify the company we’re hopefully going to be working for. And not rely on the information that’s being provided to us,” Sparke said.

“At the time it seemed perfectly legitimate. But as I think about it, there were a few things that were unusual,” Francis said.

If you paid a scammer money, immediately contact the company or bank you used to send the money, report the fraud, and ask to have the transaction reversed. If it’s done within 24 to 48 hours there’s a better chance of getting your money back.

So far, Bank of America has denied Francis’ request to dispute the transaction, and a company spokesperson never got back to 13 News for an interview.

To report a cyber scam, like a fake work-from-home job, report it to the FBI by clicking HERE.

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