METRO DETROIT (WXYZ) — For years now, I've been keeping an eye out for any scams bubbling up in metro Detroit, and one that was quite pesky during the pandemic is back with a vengeance.
See Alicia Smith's full story on the warning in the video below
I'm talking about the 'Remote Job Scam', those text messages trying to recruit you for a phony job opportunity. I even posted about it on our WXYZ Facebook page, and received nearly a hundred comments from people all over metro Detroit.
The commenters included Chandler Gimson, who said he gets texts like this on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day. Dina Berry wrote, "They got me. Even had Fed-Ex overnight a $1,700 check to me and wanted to cash it. I knew better, these scammers are ridiculous."
So I wanted to follow up with these two people and take a deeper dive to raise awareness about one of the most common text scams out there. This is a scam that is prompting a fresh warning from a federal agency.
"I get a few every week at least. There seems to be like patches where I get one every other day for like three or four days in a row," Chandler told me over Zoom recently.
Chandler, who lives in Belleville, is tired of getting these remote job texts.
“It's always something like, 'Hey, we can give you $800 a week, only one to two hours a day to work.' And I'm like, that's cool. Sounds really sketchy," Chandler said.
I've received several of these lately; so have my colleagues and many of you. One fake job was helping TikTok or YouTube creators.
Another phony opportunity was for a remote Data Marketing position taking up only 1-2 hours a day.
Sound too good to be true? Yep! It is.
About a year ago, Eastpointe resident Dina Berry received a text for a remote job with a pharmaceutical healthcare company.
"And unfortunately, I fell for it," Dina told me.
So, what was appealing about this offer that she received over text? And how good was the pay?
“It was the fact that you could work remote and also in regards to the hours were very flexible and the pay," Dina replied. “It was I want to say like $25 or more per hour.”
They sent her a contract, asked for her banking and personal information, then overnighted a $1,700 check to pay for her expenses. But the check was from a construction company. That's when she knew it was a scam.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration even released a Scam Alert, saying, "Watch out for remote job scams claiming to be from SSA."
“There are scammers out there who are pretending they are with the Social Security Administration?" I asked Mary Miller, a Senior Advisor with OIG Social Security Administration.
"Yes, and unfortunately, this is pretty common in a Social Security or any government imposter scam," Mary replied.
“Has the Social Security Administration sent out information via text about job opportunities ever?" I followed up.
"Not that we're aware of," Mary clarified. "If Social Security has job opportunities in the future, you'll find them on USA Jobs."
The OIG for the Social Security Administration is now sharing these key warning signs of remote job scams:
- Unsolicited texts, calls, emails or social media messages
- Unofficial email domains
- Requests for personal information or payment
- Pressure to act quickly or threats of missing out on an opportunity.
Bottom line: if you did not sign up for job alerts from that source, consider it a scam. Do not respond, click on any links, or call any phone numbers about these remote job opportunities. And please report these texts to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker.
