Scam Alert - Advanced Fee Scam - What do I do?
First off, if you fell for the scam, get mad at the scammers, don't get mad at yourself.
Next take a look at our
Top 5 Ways to spot a scam article and see other
examples of scams we have helped uncover.
If you have responded to a job posting that is an Advanced Fee scam and received an email or a check,
What To Do:
- If you receive a check, keep it but do NOT cash it.
- If you have already received a check and have cashed it, contact your bank immediately to let them know that the check is fraudulent. Tell the fraud department that it is a 'check cashing scam' .
- If you receive a check, keep it but do NOT cash it.
- If you have already received a check and have cashed it, contact your bank immediately to let them know that the check is fraudulent. Tell the fraud department that it is a 'check cashing scam' .
- If you have given out your personal info (social security number, driver's license number, address etc.) immediately contact the credit bureaus (
Experian,
TransUnion,
Equifax) to freeze your credit. This is a free service.
- Ideally, you should report this to the FBI . You can use the following link to submit your case: https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx . If the FBI gets enough reports, it can help track down these guys or at least get their back accounts seized and help other people not get scammed.
- Most importantly, the best thing to do is to cease all communications with them. Keep all your emails but don't respond (even to call them out). This is not an identity theft issue and the criminals are thousands of miles away (in our experience 100% of the time this originates from overseas) so once you stop replying they will move on and this will be over for you.
- Ideally, you should report this to the FBI . You can use the following link to submit your case: https://www.ic3.gov/default.
- Most importantly, the best thing to do is to cease all communications with them. Keep all your emails but don't respond (even to call them out). This is not an identity theft issue and the criminals are thousands of miles away (in our experience 100% of the time this originates from overseas) so once you stop replying they will move on and this will be over for you.
If you guys ever have any questions don't hesitate to reach out. We have a security system in place to screen all the postings so we have become experts in spotting them. When in doubt, reach out.