SIOUX FALLS, SD –
A warning about a new twist on an old scam targeting people in KELOLAND is a good reminder for everyone to spot phishing emails as phonies.
Scammers send out millions of phishing emails and all it takes are a few people to take the bait for them to make a quick dollar.
A Sioux Falls man, who asked to only be identified by his first name, thought the email that came to him was legitimate because it went into his inbox instead of his junk folder. But Randy quickly learned if it sounds too good to be true, it typically is.
Randy is retired and enjoys his part time job in the summer mowing fairways on a golf course. But he was looking for something to do during the winter months. When he got an email describing a potential job, he responded.
“You would take this money that people would send you; you would take a commission and the balance of the funds were for rent that were due on properties supposedly that this company was leasing,” Randy said.
Randy says the company went by a couple of different names: Busy Suites and Easy Suites. He gave them his name, number and address, and a few days later, he got a big cashier’s check in the mail.
“Put the money in your bank account and take 10 percent out and of course allow for the fees to do this transaction and then wire the money to this guy and it eventually goes to a guy in the Philippines,” Randy said.
That was enough for red flags to go up for Randy.
“I looked up that location, there isn’t that location — it’s non-existent,” Randy said.
“It’s just a new twist on an old scam. This really turned out to just be a classic over-payment scam and really they just focus on people looking for jobs or people selling a car or some other project,” Better Business Bureau Branch Manager Jessie Schmidt said.
A few days later, Randy got a text from the scammers wanting to know if he’d received their check. If he had taken the bait and cashed the check and wired it, he’d be on the line for the entire amount.
“I would never respond to it again. I’ve learned my lesson on this one, that’s for sure,” Randy said.
If a job is legitimate, you’d have to go through an application process and you’d never be required to wire money.
The Better Business Bureau will put this scam in its Scam Tracker. The FTC has this warning about employment scams.