Massive Remote Job Scam in New York Has Already Stolen over $2 Million

Those on the job hunt are heavily advised to watch out for fraudulent offers that steal money.

Yet another scam is running rampant across New York.

Yesterday, January 9, the Oneida County Sheriff's Office warned residents of a terrifying kidnapping scam that tries to convince parents their child is in danger.

A few days prior, the FBI warned New Yorkers of a convincing E-Z Pass scam that's making the rounds again.

Now, New York Attorney General Letitia James is warning residents of yet another danger that has already bilked more than $2 million from hard working Americans.

James warned that scammers are now targeting those looking for remote work by sending them fake job offers.

Here's How This Scam Works

Have you been getting text messages from people pretending to be from a known company, like Meta or Amazon, claiming they have a perfect job for you even if you aren't looking?

The scammer will offer the victim a "job"m saying their resume was recommended to their recruitment team.

The text will then lay out a job description that really is too good to be true.

Here's an example of a text that was sent to me recently.  While the below message slaps of "scam," an unfortunate number of people have fallen for it.

The scammer then tries to engage the victim on an encrypted messaging service, like WhatsApp, for the next phase of their deceit.

The so-called "recruiter" will then try to convince the victim to purchase stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency, and instruct them to make a deposit in an account meant to generate wealth.

The victim is then told to review products on fake websites, which the scammers says will generate market data.

What the victim may not know is they are putting money directly into the scammer's wallet. Once the deposit is secured, the scammer ghosts the victim.

"Deceiving New Yorkers looking to take on remote work and earn money to support their families is cruel and unacceptable," AG James said in a statement.

She said her office has worked hard to freeze the scammers' cryptocurrency accounts and is now working to redirect the $2.2 million back to its rightful owners. Her administration has also launched a lawsuit against the criminals to pay penalties and further restitutions.

Meanwhile, this latest scheme should serve as a warning to all New Yorkers about how scams have evolved. While some are more convincing than others, the reliance on crypto has made it even harder for authorities to recover funds because that type of currency is difficult to trace.

Said AG James, "I urge all New Yorkers to be cautious of text messages from unknown senders claiming to offer jobs or other opportunities, and to report any scams to my office."

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