How a job scam turned a Mass. mom's search for remote work into a nightmare

A new mom in Middleborough, Massachusetts, is out thousands of dollars after falling victim to an elaborate job scam.

And it all started on her town's Facebook page.

“Right now.. there's really nothing I can do,” said Becca Green.   “Like, honestly, I’m an idiot. Like. I just wanted to be home with her.”

Green was pregnant last year, looking for a remote job when she saw a social media post on her town’s Facebook page. She thought she was responding to a local man who had posted about work opportunities at his company, but instead, she stepped into a scam.

“He had sent me an interview code,” she said. “He said, download this app,  go on here, put in the interview code, and my supervisor will reach out to you for an interview.  And we, had done like a really lengthy interview after I reached out.”

She got the job, and thought she was working for Radial, an ecommerce company.  She filled out company paperwork and participated in a two-day training session, all online.  Then her new employer offered to pay off her credit card balances.

“When I gave them my credit card information, I saw them all paid off.  That's when I was like, okay, this is legit, they paid off my credit cards,” she remembered.

She was told to use her credit cards to buy gift cards that would pay for the equipment she needed for the job.

“They wanted me to get Apple gift cards or Stream…. they kept asking for cash gold, something or other.  It was something for electronics,” she said.

It seemed a little strange, so Green messaged the local man who told her about the job.

“I kept asking him, like, is this you know, what you went through? Like, this is kind of weird,” she said.  “And he said, the same thing happened to me, you know, don't worry about it.  That's just how they work and you’ll get your equipment… talking to him, he was making me feel like it was OK.”

In addition to her social media connection, she was dealing with someone she thought was the company’s hiring manager via email and another employee through a messaging app.

It seemed real.

After she bought $6,000 in gift cards and turned the numbers over, Green heard from her credit card companies that the payments made on her accounts had bounced.  She confronted the “company” and things took a dark turn.

“That's when they started sending me threatening emails,” she said.   “They said do you want to have your little angel in jail, because, you know, they knew I was pregnant... we can ruin your life and lock you in jail forever.”

And that wasn’t all.

“And then the next one said, keep enjoying until we meet, so then that freaked me out.  So that's when I called the cops and was like, all right, you know someone, they know my address,” she said.

Police confirmed the local man’s Facebook account had been hacked and that she was the victim of a scam.

Sabrina Wnorowski, the chief human resource officer at Radial tells us:  

"Unfortunately, we have seen scammers use Radial’s name and the identities of our leaders for several years now. These bad actors also continue to change up their approaches, getting more creative which can make this difficult to combat. It is unfortunate that these scenarios continue to happen to individuals who are simply eager to begin a new career, we hope that others don’t continue to fall victim to this type of scam.  

 "We have taken several steps to proactively educate prospective employees where we can. We include a disclaimer on our website that encourages talent to apply for roles directly through our company website. We also remind people that Radial employees will never request payment and will only reach out to applicants with an @radial.com email address."

Green has a warning for others looking for a job.

“Even if you're talking to multiple people, beware, like watch out.  Make sure you know who you’re talking to,” she said.

According to Fraud.org Green was a victim of what’s called the “Disappearing Money Scam”.  That’s when a consumer thinks their credit card balances are paid off by a new friend or business partner, only to see that credit vanish days later.  

No honest potential employer will ask you to purchase gift cards.  And if you are suspicious about a job opportunity or employer, Google the company name, go to their website and reach out to them directly. 

The Federal Trade Commission has consumer advice on job scams here.