Employment Fraud
Employment fraud, also referred to as occupational fraud, is the criminal offense of defrauding individuals who are seeking employment. By posing as a reputable company (phishing) or presenting a work at home opportunity, an offender may attempt to gain sensitive information from applicants. This may include personal information, contact information and even social security numbers and driver's license numbers. As such,
identity theft and
internet fraud are often involved in employment fraud schemes.
Following are some examples of employment fraud:
- Phishing - These schemes are typically meant to obtain sensitive personal information. By creating and advertising seemingly real job positions and even creating fake websites, the offender will persuade job applicants to provide personal information, which they will then use or sell to third parties.
- Reshipping - With a reshipping scheme, an "employer" will provide legitimate looking contracts or documents to obtain a job applicant's trust. They will then ship goods to the new "employee" with instructions to reship to another location. These goods may be stolen or fraudulently obtained, and the "employee" may then face legal accountability for shipping stolen goods.
- Work at Home Schemes (Envelope Stuffing) - A work at home scheme involving envelope stuffing usually requires the payment of a "registration fee" to begin. This is essentially a pyramid scheme, as the applicant is then asked to place an ad similar to the one they responded to. People will then send their "registration fees" to the applicant, and so on.
- Purchasing Lists - Some companies may offer lists of work at home opportunities, at a price. The applicant pays the fee, only to find that the list is outdated and basically worthless.
Employment fraud may result in federal charges, particularly if the internet was used to commit the offense. Penalties may vary depending on the circumstances surrounding the alleged offense.
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