Consumer Advisory: Continued Work from Home Scams

Consumers continue to lose money from work-from-home scams that assist cyber criminals move stolen funds. Worse yet, due to their deliberate or unknowing participation in the scams, these individuals may face criminal charges. Work-from-home scam victims are often recruited by organized cyber criminals through newspaper ads, online employment services, unsolicited emails or “spam”, and social networking sites advertising work-from-home opportunities. Once recruited, however, rather than becoming an employee of a legitimate business, the consumer is actually a “mule” for cyber criminals who use the consumer’s or other victim’s accounts to steal and launder money. In addition, the consumer’s own identity or account may be compromised by the cyber criminals.

Note: This advisory was created as part of a joint effort between the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS‐ISAC).

Be sure to read the full advisory:     Fraud Advisory for Consumers – Involvement in Criminal Activity through Work from Home Scams

We have also created an awareness “poster” to go along with this advisory. Feel free to print it off, pass it around or grab the sticky tack and hang it on the wall. Here’s the poster:     Be Wary of “Work From Home Scams”