Work-from-home job scam

Emily, a college student, was looking for a work-from-home job to help pay for classes. She received an inquiry on LinkedIn that looked like just what she wanted. After emails back and forth with the company, Emily happily accepted the job. Part of the agreement included a check from the company that Emily could use for equipment to work from home. When the check arrived, Emily was surprised to see that it was for nearly double the agreed-upon amount.

Before she cashed the check, Emily asked her company what to do. They told her to return the extra money immediately. This request raised Emily’s suspicions. She did some online research and found that she had narrowly avoided falling victim to a scam. Potential employees are urged to return money to the company before they deposit the equipment check. When they return the money and try to cash the check, they discover the check is fraudulent and they have lost what they sent to the phony company. Emily destroyed the check and blocked the company from communicating with her.

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