Is this courier job a scam?

October 29, 2007 3:44 PM

Is this courier business a scam?

I saw an ad on craigslist about working for a courier service type thing, applied and got the "job". They claim to cater to people overseas who cannot get certain things shipped directly to their country, and instead accept and re-ship them for the customer. My job would be to get the package, inspect the contents, print out the pre-paid shipping label and send it out again.

Upon googling, their name only comes up in a few directories, which makes me a little suspicious - how would a business like this operate without a website? However, the only personal info they're asking for is address, phone number and driver's license, and at no point am I supposed to be paying for anything. They amount of money they're offering seems about right for how much work is involved.

So, is this a scam? I don't see how it could possibly be, but I'm naturally a little wary of any "work from home" thing on the internet.

posted by borkingchikapa to work & money (10 comments total)

Vanishingly small chance it could be legit but very likely you'd be helping someone commit credit card fraud. See this website for more details, lots of others with more info on scams like this.
posted by aerotive at 3:51 PM on October 29, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Yeah, it sounds like you're more or less laundering, in a sense. I tend to take everything on CL with, at best, a grain of salt.
posted by Industrial PhD at 3:54 PM on October 29, 2007

Yes, it is a scam. The items are purchased with stolen or fraudulent credit cards and shipped to you, then you re-send them. When the police start to follow the trail, they will end up at your doorstep.

Dateline recently had an episode entitled "To Catch An ID Thief" which covered this.
posted by diamondsky at 3:54 PM on October 29, 2007

They never asked for my SSN, but that seems irrelevant. I'm pretty sure you're right, thanks.
posted by borkingchikapa at 3:57 PM on October 29, 2007

And now that you know it's part of a fraud scheme, you'd be extra liable! You would probably have been the one to get screwed in the end anyway. Report it to your police?
posted by a robot made out of meat at 4:20 PM on October 29, 2007

They don't need your SSN borkingchikapa because you aren't the intended victim, you are the intended patsy.
posted by Bonzai at 4:36 PM on October 29, 2007

Follow the advice in that first link and report this to the FBI and your local police.
posted by Dasein at 4:40 PM on October 29, 2007

A legitimate full-time employer would need your SSN for tax purposes.
posted by GPF at 4:52 PM on October 29, 2007

...but, of course, asking for your SSN on an online form (as the article above suggests) as the ONLY prerequisite for employment is totally scammy.
posted by GPF at 4:56 PM on October 29, 2007

NBC Dateline ran a whole series about this, To Catch an ID Thief. Scam, without a doubt.
posted by scalefree at 11:07 PM on October 31, 2007