Dec 30, 2024
Since the pandemic, a lot of companies have made a shift to remote work. Many employees have found that working from home offers a lot of benefits, including saving on transportation costs.
However, for some people with disabilities, remote work can also be a lifeline, enabling them to hold down jobs without having to stress about workplace accommodations.
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Such is the case for Baltimore resident Ami Porter, whose disability makes it difficult for her to be on her feet. “I have to do something where I can… sit and kind of do it at my own pace,” she told WMAR 2 News.
As a result, she’d embarked on a search for well-paid remote opportunities and was offered a remote data entry position with a company called Northzone.
It turns out, though, that the offer — which was revealed to her by a “hiring manager” via Signal, an encrypted messaging app — was nothing more than a scam. Fortunately, Porter had the foresight to pick up on the red flags right away.
Not everyone is so lucky, though. So, if you're seeking remote work, it's important to know what warning signs to look out for — and remember this one unwritten rule.
The unwritten rule that saved her
It's not uncommon for companies to impose certain requirements for their remote workers. You may find a perfectly legitimate job that requires you to have internet and phone access at home, for instance.
But the one unwritten rule to follow in the context of remote work is that you shouldn't have to pay to work. So, when Porter was told she'd need to purchase specific equipment — like a new computer and Apple iPhone 15 — and then mail those products to the company so they could install the proper software, she immediately became suspicious.
“You shouldn’t have to pay to work,” she told WMAR 2 News. “I was told that a long time ago.”
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So, Porter did a little digging and discovered that, while Northzone is a real company, the specific job she'd applied for was a scam.
Although Northzone is aware of these types of scams — and even has a section on its website warning people of fraudulent job offers — it's also hard for the company to stop them. What Northzone does do, though, is confirm on its website that it would never ask for any up-front fees, payments, or purchases as a condition of employment.
Thankfully, Porter reported the incident to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) so they could intervene. “My thought was, ‘I can't let this go, because somebody is going to be naive enough to buy this stuff,’” Porter said.
“If it doesn't seem right, double check, call the company,” she added. “[Go] that extra mile, because that shows that you are proactive [in] protecting yourself and others.”
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How to protect yourself from similar scams
Studies have shown that the pandemic has paved the way for an uptick in job-related scams, specifically involving remote positions.
The BBB revealed that an estimated 14 million people are exposed to employment scams every year, resulting in $2 billion in direct losses.
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In addition, a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) found that job scam activity increased by a whopping 118% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the median loss for employment fraud victims was $2,000, per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If that’s a sum of money you’d rather not lose, it’s important to know what red flags to look for.
First, be wary of any offer that seems too good to be true. If the annual salary is $100,000 to sell pet products online from home with flexible hours and zero experience needed? It most likely won’t be legitimate.
If you’re uncertain, trust your gut and do your own research. Don’t accept any job offer until you’ve thoroughly looked into the company and the position posted online.
Next, you should never be required to send money or make specific purchases that you’d then send to a company. It's one thing for a company to require that you have access to a laptop in general. But if they tell you to buy a specific laptop and ask you to send it to them for upgrades, that's a major red flag.
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The same goes for a company telling you to send cash or gift cards as part of the onboarding process, since you should never have to pay a fee as part of an employment check. On the flip side, no honest employer would send you a “check” in order to buy work supplies and require you to send back any money that is leftover. More often than not, that check will bounce.
Also, don't assume that a job is legitimate just because it's posted on a platform you recognize. The BBB reports that scammers commonly use sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter to engage with their targets. In fact, 32% of employment fraud victims came across the scam job posting on LinkedIn, one of the most popular job search tools.
Now one tricky thing is that it is common practice to have to share your Social Security number with an employer. But you also don't want that number to fall into the wrong hands.
So before you take that step, do your own research, like Porter did. Make sure the company has a legitimate website, but also call the company directly using the number provided on the website and speak to an actual person to ensure the offer you're pursuing is legitimate.
Also, be on the lookout for companies that contact you out of the blue with an offer for a remote job. It's pretty unlikely to get recruited without initiating contact yourself.
Fortunately, Porter has a couple decades of work experience under her belt, so she was aware of what red flags to look out for. If you take many of the same steps she did, you’ll likely avoid becoming a victim of employment fraud yourself.
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Maurie Backman has been writing professionally for well over a decade. Since becoming a full-time writer, she's produced thousands of articles on topics ranging from Social Security to investing to real estate.
