Page 9 - Cyberattacks and Cyberscams: Is There an End in Sight?

Fleep, a messaging app. The recruit-
ers promised to reach out, and soon “Anyone can become a vic-
tim of a cyber fraud or scam,
she heard good news. Chavez got the if targeted in the right way
job. She received a formal letter with at the right time by a highly
Medline’s logo splashed across the top skilled offender.” 5
and paperwork to complete. Chavez
provided copies of her ID card, bank — Mark Button and Cassandra Cross,
criminology researchers
account number, and Social Security
number, all information employers typi-
cally request from a new employee.
But then—silence. “[I] just felt queasy like something was not
right,” Chavez says. She texted the recruiters, but they did not
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respond. She checked the Fleep account, but it had been delet-
ed. When she went to Medline’s online career center, she noticed
something she had missed earlier. The email addresses of Med-
line employees ended in “@medline.com,” not “@medlinejobs.
com” like the addresses of her so-called recruiters. Realization
struck. She had fallen for a scam, and now the fake employers
had some of her most valuable personal data.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) ranks employment fraud
among the top three riskiest cyberscams. Employment scam-
mers convince victims that they are applying to, being hired by,
or working for a legitimate employer. The scams often involve
detailed setups such as job postings on legitimate recruiting
websites, interviews and forms, and props like logos, websites,
or email addresses that appear authentic. An elaborate setup
helped convince Chavez to hand over her personal data, some-
thing she might never have done in other circumstances. With a
victim’s personal and fi nancial information, criminals can make
purchases or apply for credit cards, loans, tax refunds, and
employment benefi ts.
In another type of employment fraud, scammers offer targets
a job on the condition that they buy their own supplies or pay for
training. After victims pay, the fake employer and job disappear.
Still other employment scams trick victims into money laundering;

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