Work-from-home jobs can provide valuable income for people who are unable to work a traditional job.
For Mildred Bedar, a Houston resident, her work-at-home position helped her pay the bills, until the company disappeared without sending her a paycheck.
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Bedar said she was hired to inspect shipments from Amazon, repackage them, and send the products to their final destination. She was supposed to be paid $2,900 for her work, with a bonus of $20 for every package that she handled.
What she was ultimately paid, however, was nothing, putting her at serious risk of losing her home. Here’s how she became a victim of a work-from-home scam.
How the work-from-home scam worked
Bedar said she worked for the company that hired her for months, only to have the business vanish before her scheduled payday, leaving her in a bind.
"I’ll be homeless if I don’t get that money," Bedar told Fox 26 Houston. "I’m a 68-year-old woman with her service dog out on the street or her car is not something I would think about."
It’s unlikely that Amazon shipping will come, however, because the Postal Service and the Better Business Bureau believe that Bedar had inadvertently been duped into a "reshipping scam." These scams involve products acquired illegally and are then laundered through multiple shipping steps to hide their origin.
A spokesperson from the Better Business Bureau, Leah Napoliello, explained the scam and the unfortunate fallout for Bedar.
"If she has not been paid and suddenly the business has gone dark — there’s no evidence they’re still operating — and there’s no way to contact them to request payment, then that is very suspicious," Napoliello said.
There’s little Bedar can do to recover the promised paycheck, as the company was not a legitimate one in the first place.
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How to avoid work-from-home scams
While Bedar is unlikely to get her money, others can learn from her experience and avoid work-from-home scams.
Some red flags to watch out for that could suggest a job is not legitimate include:
- A company that expects a lot of work upfront before you get paid
- Pay that seems too good to be true for the expected work
- Companies that ask you to pay upfront to be considered for the job
- A business without a strong online presence, like a LinkedIn page or company website
- Getting hired without an in-person interview process in which you speak to someone via phone or Zoom
- Complaints about the company in online forums or online review sites
If you spot any of these signs, you should move onto opportunities with a more reputable employer who is more likely to pay you.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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