Are you looking for a job online? Beware of this hiring scam

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Stacy Nauyoks lives in Carson City and decided to apply for a remote job through Kelly Services.

“I just wanted a job to earn money to go see my boy,” she said.

Her son is 18 and will be graduating from boot camp and entering the US Navy in September.

She needed money to get to her degree.

But Nauyok’s job search quickly took a turn for the worse when she received a Facebook message from someone claiming to be a hiring manager at Kelly Services.

“I thought that was normal because I don’t do much social media, so I thought ‘oh maybe,'” Nauyoks explained.

She answered some basic questions about Facebook Messenger and an app called Signal.

“Do you have any offences? Are you drug free? do you have any reference work? »

But soon the questions became more personal.

“Routing number and account number. And then she said, ‘Can I have your username and password to verify that it’s you?’ Nauyoks said.

Nauyoks shared his banking information, social security number and a photo of his driver’s license, among other things. She said she was desperate for a job and was thinking about her son.

“It’s like I miss you guys, I want to go home. I miss you, please come to my graduation,” she told her son in a letter.

The scammer emptied his account before realizing it was a scam. Although she was able to freeze her bank account, the scam is far from over.

The Better Business Bureau says Nauyok is at high risk for identity theft.

“Identity theft is any time someone uses your identity, your personal information, and is an impostor of you,” said Joe Sirorine, community outreach coordinator for the Better Business Bureau Mountain West.

He says employment scams have been more common since the start of the pandemic, when many people started looking for remote work.

“From young to old, they will hone their skills and target whoever they want to target,” Sirorine said.

Kelly Services said in a statement that they are aware of these types of scams and “will attempt to find out the source.”

They also say they will never ask for banking information before hiring.

As for Nauyoks, his accounts are frozen, including his credit card, and his unemployment check will be delayed.

But she says the hardest part is not knowing if she will see her son graduate.

“Having to write to him and say ‘sorry son, your mum made a mistake, we can’t come’… I can’t do that.”

If you think you have been the victim of an online scam, call local law enforcement or contact the FTC.

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