The Illinois Attorney General is warning the public about work from home scams.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul says the work from home scams are not new, but have become much more prevalent during the pandemic.
Attorney General’s Office Spokesperson Annie Thompson says the offers can look enticing.
“A lot of these scams make promises that you can earn a lot of money by working from home, doing things like stuffing and mailing envelopes, or making handmade crafts that can be sold but you have to first purchase a kit.
The Attorney General just wants people to be wary of offers for quick easy money at home that require you to make an upfront investment because in some of these cases you could at best be out the money you invest, and at worst loose money or compromise your personal information.”
Thompson says the Attorney General’s Office is seeing several pyramid schemes disguised as gifting clubs. She says people should never send money or gifts to people you don’t know or pay for any materials or training upfront.
Raoul is also warning job-seekers to be cautious about providing personal information when searching and applying for jobs online. He says in some cases, scammers obtain personal information by posting phony jobs on legitimate job sites and prompting job-seekers to provide personal or financial information in order to apply.
Or, in other cases, fraudulent employers tell job-seekers that they have been hired and need to send information, including social security numbers and financial information, in order to start the hiring process.
Raoul is asking the public to report any scams they come across by calling his Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-243-0618 or on the Attorney General’s website at illinoisattorneygeneral.gov