The woman in this article thought she was getting into a legitimate employment opportunity. She even made some calls and checked out the company ahead of time. She didn't put up any money, so that probably also put her mind at ease, since most of us know that those 'companies' asking for funds up front in exchange for work tend to be frauds. She did work for the company, but wasn't paid, and when she subsequently tried calling, the phone number was disconnected. She's been getting the run around, but it also sounds as if there may have been some fraudulent PayPal activity that somehow involved the company using her address. I'm sure PayPal will look into the matter, but it's doubtful she will be paid for her time, and on top of that, having your residential address associated with at least questionable, if not fraudulent, PayPal transactions can't be good.
@Diane Lane, I don't think that's a link. It looks like your post or a portion of your post is pasted into the link box.
That's too bad, that one sounded pretty legit too. I'm not one for working online so there's little chance for me to be scammed. I'm just as skeptical in online jobs as I am with conspiracy theories. Especially the ones that offer $7,000 a week.
There are so many of those work at home scams going around, unless it is a company that others I know work for, I am pretty hesitant to sign up for anything. I don't even like paying for background checks because if a company thinks you are worth it, they are going to pay the cost of a background check anyway. The sad thing about these work at home job scams is that they pray on those who can often least afford it.
To be honest, I don't trust websites unless I have the proof of their authenticity. Especially those sites that promise to pay for tasks that you can do for them, that's an old story, so to speak, and I don't fall for that line anymore. If you have heard of Bubblews, well, it has duped so many writers I know that it has served as a good lesson for everyone although I know there are still some writers who fall for that trap of writing in the hope of getting paid.. but eventually not being paid at all. We have to be careful with our online dealings because like in real life, scammers are here with us.
Yes, this type of scam definitely preys on those least likely to be able to afford to pay up front, work without receiving compensation for their time and effort, etc. It's really a shame that so many such sites exist. Although there are plenty of scams in the real world, they're much more prevalent online, since it's so easy to set up a site and get the ball rolling there than it is to fool people if they can stand in front of you or walk into your building. It's also probably much cheaper to set up a scam online, and these people aren't concerned about business requirements or borders, they're equal opportunity scammers, with many originating overseas. It does sound as if she did some checking ahead of time, but even with that effort, she was still scammed.