Victim Location 32461
Total money lost $500
Type of a scam Employment
I applied for a content editing position through the platform "Upwork". A person named Jesse Fiddmont contacted me and asked for an interview. He stated a woman, Teresa Markoe, would be conducting the interview through Google Hangouts. I went through the initial interview process and was hired. On the first day of orientation, Ms. Markoe sent an official check for the purchase of office equipment through a vendor she stated she would have me contact. This seemed completely legitimate, the company has a website, admin have linkedin pages, etc.
The next day, Ms. Markoe began asking me to transfer $500 and $1000 increments (for the equipment) into strange accounts via mobile cash pay apps. I was very hesitant and she became angry and even sent over the banking information for another person, asking me to transfer the money into that person’s account. I called the bank for which the check had been drafted. While the account was legitimate, they said there were not enough funds at the time to cover the amounts.
In the meantime, my own debit card flagged suspicious activity and was frozen by the bank. I called Cell Culture Company’s main phone number and asked to speak with Ms. Markoe. The receptionist stated someone was posing as her on Upwork and the entire thing was a scam. She said it had been reported multiple times and there was nothing the business could do about it.
I would appreciate you checking into this as they are using professional venues to attract potential employees and attempting to take money from their accounts by providing them with up front money for "office equipment" to complete a professional job.