Shipping Business Scam

If getting paid to ship packages from your home sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. A town of Dunn woman recently found herself in a frightening situation, after she responded to an email via a job-seekers website. The email appeared to be from a legitimate business, offering to pay individuals up to $3500 per month plus commission, to receive and then forward packages to another address. The woman filled out the online application using her personal information and signed other official looking documents. Even the company’s website looked legitimate.
Over a two-week period, the woman mailed approximately 18 packages and was looking forward to her first paycheck, until she was visited by a Dane County Sheriff’s Deputy. The Appleton Police Department had contacted the Sheriff’s Office when an Appleton resident had an iPad charged to their account and sent to the address in the town of Dunn. The following day, another call from Neenah Police came in with the same scenario. The victim was then contacted directly by someone from Texas who stated his credit card was fraudulently used to purchase a computer which was sent to her home. Initially the victim had a difficult time believing she had been scammed. She immediately emailed her contact and asked her to stop sending packages, and refused any that arrived. Those packages were turned over to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office. In this case, the packages were being sent to addresses in New York and Delaware.
If you or someone you know has been victimized by telephone or online scammers, please report it to local law enforcement. Complaints can also be filed with the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-1. In addition, share this information with family and friends, so that more people are not caught up in these scams.