It has been reported that a fraudulent ad was advertised in student newspaper. An ad titled “Worker Needed” ran in the Jan. 28 issue of The Gramblinite, which offered a part-time online job to any student applicant. The contact information given was tonyadam01@hotmail.com.According to a local bank, students responded to this ad and began working for this online company.
In return for their services, they were issued MoneyGram checks in the amount of $750.
Monica Malencado was identified as the purchaser of the checks.
When the students attempted to cash the checks, the latter proved not only fraudulent, but also a potential identity theft scam.
The teller contacted The Gramblinite to alert Grambling State University students of the scheme.
“Students are in danger of being arrested” if the attempts to cash the checks continued, the teller said.
Attempts to contact the creator of the ad brought no response.
The e-mail address was placed on a “scam block list” for fraud and identity theft, according to Google. This is called a 419 scam, a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa, according to Joewein.com,
Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc. This particular scam qualified for placement on the scam block list.
Identity theft causes millions of lost dollars for customers and businesses world wide, according to The Earth Times news.
Identity theft and identity fraud refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in a way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.
According to the United States Department of Justice, the Internet has become an appealing place for criminals to obtain identifying data, such as passwords or even banking information.
Many people do not realize how easily criminals can obtain our personal data without having to break into our homes.
Protect your social security card and never carry it in your wallet.
Shred documents containing personal information. Monitor bank, credit card statements, and open them immediately to check for unauthorized usage.