How to protect yourself from scammers offering fake jobs

ARMSTRONG COUNTY, Pa. — Bills Tatters, 60, lives in rural Armstrong County and is on disability, but really wants to work.

Earlier this year, he received a text about a job he could do from home.

“They said, ‘It’s simple. You test these apps for developers,’” Tatters said.

It was an opportunity that seemed to be a perfect fit.

“I did it a couple of times. I made $100 each time in two days, so I thought, ‘This is pretty good,’” Tatters said.

Tatters was asked to transfer money from his bank account into a Cash App, then purchase cryptocurrency. He got his money back the first two times, but by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. He was already out more than $3,000 as a result of an elaborate scam.

“It’s just so humiliating and makes you feel so violated,” Tatters said.

Tatters is just one of thousands of victims of employment scams nationwide. The FBI says more than 15,000 complaints were filed in 2023 alone and these cases are on the rise, totaling an annual loss of more than $70 million.

“This is a full-time job for these people behind these computers,” Pennsylvania State Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said.

State police work closely with federal agents to help educate the public, especially vulnerable groups the scammers are targeting.

“So seeing maybe someone maybe a little bit older or it can only be that only wants to work from home. They will key in on those small things,” Gagliardi said.

““They can just plug in these bot systems and have fake profiles and comment all day long to where it looks legitimate,” Gagliardi said.

State police said in cases like Tatters’, it’s important to do your homework about a company.

“There’s certain websites you can go see their grade level from, you know, government websites to tell you, you know, this is a legitimate business and they have a great factor of A through F. Extra little steps like that before you plug in stuff like your social security number or your bank account information will definitely go a long way,” Gagliardi said.

“It’s terrible and I’m not a rich person. I said, ‘You took everything I had.’ She said, ‘I didn’t take anybody’s money,’” Tatters said.

The company Tatters said he worked with was called Z-K Sync. We found the company online, but it’s unclear if the cryptocurrency site we found was the same one Tatters thought he was working for.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group