FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – A Fresno woman recently lost thousands of dollars in a job scam.
She had been looking for work for months when she was approached by a company called Verblio.
She got the job, then paid the company over two thousand dollars to send them the equipment she would need for the job remotely.
It was then that she discovered that it was a scam.
It was a smart trick by the scammer to use a real business name, a real job, and then use the pandemic to his advantage by saying it was remote work and you must prepay for the equipment.
$ 2,300 later, Tawney found out that instead of having the chance to make money, she had just lost her savings.
While applying for dozens of jobs, Tawney received an email from what appears to be from the Verblio company.
It was a $ 25 an hour job as a virtual customer service representative.
She was invited to do an interview with Christy Baker, the name of a real employee of Verblio.
âThese people did their homework, I mean they had a background story that I checked out and even the cat photo was a person from their company,â Tawney said.
The whole process was meticulous and hermetic.
“We had a first day of interviews, it lasted about 2 and a half hours, a lot of questions, I did exercises, I answered them within a certain period of time, then I found information on their website, the company’s website and reporting what I found. “
They offered Tawney the job she accepted.
She filled out papers that looked legitimate.
The company logo was printed at the top of each page.
In another email, he was asked to prepay them for the equipment they would send him for the remote role.
They would then send a check to refund the money, but it was a bad check.
âA legitimate offer will never ask you to pay your own money, they will provide you with the tools, so we call it a fake check scam,â said Blair Looney, president of our local Better Business Bureau. âIt’s pretty much a classic job scam. They become very good at becoming corporate imposters.
Tawney had called his bank and closed his accounts, then a fraud investigation was underway.
During this time, his bank account was emptied.
âIt turned out to be a fraud and now I’m responsible,â Tawney said. â$ 2,300 in the hole plus $ 181 that I’m in the red with the bank now, I have a negative balance. That’s all I had. And I am devastated.
Realizing that it was a scam, Tawney felt lonely and helpless.
“I can’t believe how many levels of my life this has affected, not only financially but emotionally.”
She contacted CBS47 On Your Side and explained the situation she was in.
We met with her to get all the documentation, then emailed Discover Bank to see if they could do anything for Tawney.
The scammer ran away with his money, but we were able to work with Discover Bank who paid off his account.
We met Tawney again after receiving the good news.
“Not only for reaching out to Discover Bank and lobbying them, but for the support I received from channel 47, they were really on my side.”
At a time when many people are emerging from the pandemic in search of employment opportunities, she hopes her experience will help prevent someone else from being held back by a scam.
“Besides being aware of this scam and fraud that people are doing, fight for what you know to be right.”
As for the legitimate company Verblio, they have an entire page on their website describing the exact pattern that Tawney was caught in.
If you need us by your side, email us at [email protected] or call us at 559-761-0383.