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What should have been a time for celebration turned into a financial nightmare for a Missouri City couple when the wife became the victim of an employment scam.
On June 1, Shannon Thames was laid off and filed for unemployment. For the next two and half months she posted on every job site she could find.
“You name it, I have posted on it,” she said.
On Aug. 8, it looked like her hard work was about to pay off. Thames received an email from someone identifying themselves as Katharine McCauley saying she had a position for Thames as a customer service data specialist. The person claimed to be with the insurance company AXA, a company familiar to Thames because her mother uses it.
Not only was the pay more than her previous job, they were also offering a $2,100 signing bonus.
McCauley asked Thames to do an online interview using Google Hangouts.
“I thought, OK, I have done a Skype interview before, so has my husband,” said Thames. “That’s kind of the technology of today, so I thought no problem.”
Thames did the interview, and on Aug. 10 received an offer letter, complete with AXA letterhead, and a cashier’s check for $2,450. Thames was told to deposit the cashier’s check into her account, then send a MoneyGram from Wal-Mart to the company’s “computer vendor” so her computer could be purchased and delivered to her.
Thames was also told that the company’s Houston office “wasn’t ready yet,” and she would be working from home for three to four months.
Thames deposited the cashier’s check, which initially seemed to clear. She sent the money to “Toni S. and Devon Hawn” in Canton, Georgia.
Then she got a call from her bank.
“They told me, we have a problem,” said Thames. The bank told her that the cashier’s check was fraudulent. As quickly as the money was in her account, it was gone. Along with the $2,450 Thames sent to the company’s vendor.
A second cashier’s check for $3,450 for a “program they forgot for the computer” was rejected by the bank immediately.
“After I told them [the scammers]the first check had come back as fraudulent, they said, ‘No, no, it’s a good check,’” said Thames. “I tried calling the number I had and it’s a text only phone, it was a burner phone.”
Thames contacted AXA’s United States headquarters and was told that neither of the two people she had been speaking to are in the company’s global database. Thames was directed to the fraud department, and says she was told that her complaint was the fifth of that type in a week.
Thames contacted the Missouri City Police Department but was told there was little they could do because the interactions were primarily on the internet and crossed state lines. Thames is still waiting to hear back from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The last time she heard from the scammers was Aug. 15, and now she and her husband are struggling to pay their bills.
“One, I am still unemployed, we are behind on our mortgages, we are behind on our car payment, we are living off of overdraft protection,” said Thames. “It’s been very difficult.”
Thames says their parents are retired and on fixed incomes, so financial help from them is not feasible.
Thames has some advice for job seekers so they won’t be victimized like she was.
“Don’t do it on your own; go through a recruiting specialist,” she said. “If something looks too good to be true, don’t believe it. Watch out for blind copied emails. Be more diligent; call the company and verify the people that are sending you the email actually work there. “
“I didn’t do my due diligence, and I should have,” she said.
On June 1, Shannon Thames was laid off and filed for unemployment. For the next two and half months she posted on every job site she could find.
“You name it, I have posted on it,” she said.
On Aug. 8, it looked like her hard work was about to pay off. Thames received an email from someone identifying themselves as Katharine McCauley saying she had a position for Thames as a customer service data specialist. The person claimed to be with the insurance company AXA, a company familiar to Thames because her mother uses it.
Not only was the pay more than her previous job, they were also offering a $2,100 signing bonus.
McCauley asked Thames to do an online interview using Google Hangouts.
“I thought, OK, I have done a Skype interview before, so has my husband,” said Thames. “That’s kind of the technology of today, so I thought no problem.”
Thames did the interview, and on Aug. 10 received an offer letter, complete with AXA letterhead, and a cashier’s check for $2,450. Thames was told to deposit the cashier’s check into her account, then send a MoneyGram from Wal-Mart to the company’s “computer vendor” so her computer could be purchased and delivered to her.
Thames was also told that the company’s Houston office “wasn’t ready yet,” and she would be working from home for three to four months.
Thames deposited the cashier’s check, which initially seemed to clear. She sent the money to “Toni S. and Devon Hawn” in Canton, Georgia.
Then she got a call from her bank.
“They told me, we have a problem,” said Thames. The bank told her that the cashier’s check was fraudulent. As quickly as the money was in her account, it was gone. Along with the $2,450 Thames sent to the company’s vendor.
A second cashier’s check for $3,450 for a “program they forgot for the computer” was rejected by the bank immediately.
“After I told them [the scammers]the first check had come back as fraudulent, they said, ‘No, no, it’s a good check,’” said Thames. “I tried calling the number I had and it’s a text only phone, it was a burner phone.”
Thames contacted AXA’s United States headquarters and was told that neither of the two people she had been speaking to are in the company’s global database. Thames was directed to the fraud department, and says she was told that her complaint was the fifth of that type in a week.
Thames contacted the Missouri City Police Department but was told there was little they could do because the interactions were primarily on the internet and crossed state lines. Thames is still waiting to hear back from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The last time she heard from the scammers was Aug. 15, and now she and her husband are struggling to pay their bills.
“One, I am still unemployed, we are behind on our mortgages, we are behind on our car payment, we are living off of overdraft protection,” said Thames. “It’s been very difficult.”
Thames says their parents are retired and on fixed incomes, so financial help from them is not feasible.
Thames has some advice for job seekers so they won’t be victimized like she was.
“Don’t do it on your own; go through a recruiting specialist,” she said. “If something looks too good to be true, don’t believe it. Watch out for blind copied emails. Be more diligent; call the company and verify the people that are sending you the email actually work there. “
“I didn’t do my due diligence, and I should have,” she said.
Organizer
Shannon Kocher Thames
Organizer
Missouri City, TX
