Warning about Pay-Forwarding

Friday, Feb 8, 2008

LITTLE ROCK – Most of us would not mind making extra money for little work; however, when such job opportunities come along, they are usually not legitimate employment. Accordingly, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued this consumer alert to warn Arkansans about "pay it forward job scams" and provide helpful tips on how to avoid falling victim to them.

"Pay-forwarding" or "payment-transfer" employment scams promise the job-seeker a percentage of the transaction or even a set salary for only working a few hours a month. Most recently, for instance, one Arkansas consumer received an email offering a job as a U.S. based escrow agent for an international company. When the consumer responded to the offer, the scammers instructed her to act as a receiving agent for customers in the U.S. Those customers would provide her with various payments, which the consumer was to forward, via wire transfer, to the company. After receiving a postal money order from a customer that turned out to be fake, the consumer received fake travelers' checks with instructions to cash them, keep 10% of the check, and forward the rest to the scammer.

While this consumer quickly realized the scam, others are not so fortunate. Often, victims of pay-forwarding schemes later learn that the money they are transferring is stolen; thus, they unknowingly engage in illegal activities. Others have lost thousands of dollars of their own money because they have completed the transfer before clearing the original check from the "employer," which turns out to be counterfeit.

To avoid falling victim, here are some tips to remember when evaluating electronic employment offers:

- Never give out your personal bank account information to anyone you don't know and don't trust;
- Never accept money without knowing its source;
- Be wary of companies with non-specific contact information, especially non-specific email addresses;
-Always remember the old adage, "if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."

If you receive a bogus employment offer via email, please forward it to the Public Protection Department of the Arkansas Attorney General's Office at oag@ArkansasAG.gov. Victims of payment-forwarding schemes should also contact the Federal Trade Commission via its Web site, www.ftc.gov/consumer, or via phone at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).