A help wanted ad that was published in the four Leader newspapers appears to have been a scam, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported. The ad appeared several times in the Classified section of those newspapers, from Dec. 5 through Jan. 30.
The help wanted ad claimed a company was seeking to hire someone for a part-time bookkeeper/payroll position. An email address was listed for those who wanted to apply.
At least one Jefferson County resident, a woman, reached out to the company through the email address and received an email back with a link to apply for the position. The applicant was then sent text messages from a number listed as being from California, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The company informed the applicant that a $500 payment would be sent to cover starting pay and the cost of supplies needed for the job. However, the applicant received a $2,550.25 cashier’s check with a California address. The applicant became suspicious and contacted the Sheriff’s Office about the check, and she did not try to cash it, the report said.
Spokesman Grant Bissell said the check looked fake.
“The language in the messages as well as the fake-looking check are all huge red flags of a scam,” he said.
Bissell said the Sheriff’s Office suspects that the person who sent the cashier’s check was a scammer who likely would have contacted the applicant and asked her to cash the check and then send back the extra $2,050.25 through a wire transfer or some other form of payment that is difficult to trace.
Then, after the applicant sent the money, she probably would have discovered that none of the money to cover the cashier’s check was deposited into the bank account, resulting in the woman being scammed out of the $2,050.25, Bissell said.
“It’s a classic scam that keeps claiming victims,” he said.
Leader Publications was contacted about the potential scam after the Jan. 30 newspapers were printed and has since stopped running the ad. The Leader also has removed the online version of the ad.
Leader Publications called and emailed the company that placed the ad after learning of the possible scam, but it had not responded as of Tuesday.