The search for employment can sometimes lead to bogus claims and scams. One national scam that is circulating also impacted one of our members, who fell prey to the new "job offer". People are being contacted through legitimate job employment sites for jobs from home. The new job is supposedly related to payroll processing or check processing. As part of the new job, the newly hired person is basically paid a fee for moving funds through their own personal account(s). The dollar amount is typically less than $10,000 because of reporting requirements. The funds are placed into the account(s) as an Automated Clearing House (ACH) electronic deposit. Once the funds are deposited, the newly hired person is then instructed to move the funds via Western Union to one of the company's partners. A fee is retained by the employee for their services in moving the money.
Does this sound like a legitimate business? Guess what, it's not. The funds coming into the account by electronic deposit are STOLEN funds from a victim's account at another financial institution. Once the money is sent by Western Union, that money is gone. The newly hired employee who participated in this "job" may then find themselves face to face with law enforcement trying to explain how and why they participated in moving stolen funds. There is no way of knowing who the "employer" really is in these cases. It could be a terrorist group acquiring funds for terrorism for all we know.
Members should NEVER allow their own accounts to be used by strangers. There should also not be any reason why a legitimate employer would ever need to move funds through an employee's account. If you have a new employer asking you to move money through your account or an account that you are asked to open, you might want to find a new employer!
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