Better Business Bureau warns of possible employment scam

The Better Business Bureau is warning about companies contacting people out of the blue for work-from-home jobs. 

"BBB is currently investigating companies operating under four names. These companies are offering work-from-home opportunities that sound very similar, and may be scams," said Peter Moorhouse, president and CEO of BBB in a statement.

"While we have had no official complaints filed on these companies, there have been many consumer inquiries about the legitimacy of the companies. This is a clear indication to us that it's something we need to investigate further on behalf of consumers."

Jonas Cosh has been trying for years to land that dream job.

But three weeks ago, the 32-year-old Pictou County man received a surprise job offer, by email. He would be a housing co-ordinator for international students in Nova Scotia, even though he hadn't applied for the position.

"Just right out of the blue one day. I thought it was a bit strange because they never wanted to have a face to face interview," said Cosh.

Cosh said he was told he was selected based on his resume which was posted on Workopolis, a jobs website.

He continued to exchange about a dozen emails and messages on Yahoo with a man claiming to be the supervising manager for School Year and Summer Group Exchanges. The company appeared to be based in Fredericton and Moncton, N.B., and it had a telephone area code of 506.

'They asked me to set up an Interac transfer'

The job seemed ideal for Cosh, who has cerebral palsy. He'd be paid $50 an hour and work from home. The first job responsibilities listed are photocopying and filing.

"Being a person with a disability, I thought well, I'll give it a try," he said.
   
Cosh submitted forms that required him to share personal information and complete a series of tests.

Then came a final task.

"They asked me to set up an Interac transfer and they were going to transfer money in. But when I told them I had a disability and that I would have to go with somebody else, I think that made them a little nervous. So they just kind of bailed and I never heard from them again," said Cosh.

He said he's glad the communication stopped because he fears the Interac transfer would have been set up to steal money from him. 

"We haven't had anyone, that we know of, who has gone so far as to send personal and financial information to these companies and we'd like to make sure it doesn't happen in the future," said Moorehouse.

41 calls to BBB

Cosh has reported the incident to New Glasgow Police and the Better Business Bureau office for the Atlantic region. Forty others have also contacted the BBB in the last five or six weeks.
   
"We are investigating it right now to see if there is a physical office location," said Jody MacArthur, spokesperson for BBB.

"If there's not and there's no one answering those phones and calling you back, that to me said scam right away."

MacArthur said she's not aware of anyone losing any money, and depending on the results of the investigation, the bureau may post an alert about the company on its website. 

For Cosh, who worries he could become the victim of identity theft, he's cautioning job hunters to be wary of offers that sound too good to be true.

"It looks like such a good opportunity for people with disabilities to work from home. I think they could be easily targeted because they're more desperate for employment."