Greg's Corner

Job scam victim almost ends up in jail

By Greg Collier

We always warn our readers that there is one scam that could land a victim in jail if they’re not careful. That scam is the reshipping or repackaging scam. In the reshipping scam, scammers will advertise this as a work from home position where the victim’s job is to inspect packages they receive. Typically, the items sent to victims are either stolen or have been purchased using stolen credit card information. The scammers pose as a shipping company or known retailer. The victim is then instructed to send the contents of the packages to a third party. The third party is usually someone overseas. These positions are often advertised online with such titles as ‘shipping coordinator’, ‘warehouse distribution coordinator, or ‘local hub inspector’.

A man from Florida recently found out how perilous being a victim of this job scam can be. He thought he was working in a quality control position while sending out the packages he received with new shipping labels. Unbeknownst to him, an iPad the man had shipped off had been reported stolen. Investigators were able to track it to a UPS drop-off box. By reviewing security camera footage, police approached the man at the same drop-off box and placed him in handcuffs. After the man explained the situation to police, he was informed of the scam by a police investigator familiar with such scams.

Receiving stolen goods under false pretenses won’t necessarily land a victim in jail. However, there is a step that some victims have taken that have landed them in legal trouble. If a victim knowingly falsifies shipping documents under the instruction of the scammers to get around US customs, they could face jail time. This is regardless of whether the victim knows it’s a scam or not.

The best way a jobseeker can protect themselves from a shipping scams is to not accept the position in the first place. No legitimate company sends products to an employee’s home for reshipping. Scammers are only too happy to have a stolen item traced back to the victim’s home address rather than wherever the scammer is located. By accepting this phony job position, victims are acting as an unwitting middleman in a stolen goods ring.

If you think you may be a victim in a reshipping scam, there are steps you can take. If you’ve already received items, don’t mail them. Instead, contact the USPS Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455.