Job Search Scam

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is warning job hunters to beware of job search scams. He says job seekers should be cautious about “stay at home” job postings. 

These “potential employers” often send an applicant a phony check and ask them to cash it and wire some of the money back.  The scammers use the name of real companies and have bank accounts with real routing numbers. 

“No legitimate company is going to ask you to send them your personal information, your checking account number or social security number,“ said Hood.  “No legitimate company’s going to send you a check and ask you to forward money elsewhere.“

Jackson resident Shandolyn Russell-Scott applied for a “work at home” job through our web-site, but she was surprised to learn the company was actually based in England.  She was even more surprised when a Fed-Ex package suddenly arrived.

“In that package was a check for $1,717,“ she said. 

The check was from Mercy College in New York, a place that has nothing to do with the job position.  In a letter, Bill Youngers with F.B. Jesper & Son, asked that she deduct $100 and wire the remainder of the money to a shipping agent who would purchase equipment necessary for the job.

“I thought…ok a check, but I started getting suspicious that maybe I needed to investigate before I cash the check because I heard about about people cashing checks and end up having to pay the bank back,“ she said.

Attorney General Hood is investigating the case.  Since the economy has gone sour, he says his office has seen numerous scams like this one.

When News Channel 12 researched the name Bill Youngers, the man who emailed Russell-Scott, we found dozens of complaints against him on the website Anti-Fraud International.  To visit the website, click here.

 
We emailed Youngers at his listed Gmail address, but he did not respond.

“I want anybody else that goes to the website, if they happened to come across that same position, just be aware that it’s not legit,“ said Russell-Scott.

She says Youngers threatened legal action against her for not cashing the check and wiring him the money.  She told him she contacted the authorities and hasn’t heard from him.