Park Forest, IL–(ENEWSPF)– A Park Forest resident recently reported that he had been scammed out of over $3,000 for what he thought was a new job.
Officer Butler was dispatched to the Park Forest Police Department on December 11 to investigate a fraud complaint. The man said he was unemployed and posted his resume on the job-hunting website, Yahoo! Hot Jobs.
He was contacted on Saturday, November 22, by e-mail from an individual representing a company congratulating him on his new employment by their agency. The man said he was hired to be an Accounts Receivable/Payable Clerk. According to the e-mail he received, he was to receive third party checks, cash them, keep 10% for himself, and send the remaining funds to a regional office in Moreno Valley, CA, via Western Union / Money Gram.
The resident reported he received three separate checks on three different dates through FedEx. The first was in the amount of $1700.40, another in the amount of $1,860.21, and a third in the amount of $8,460.
The resident received the first two checks, deposited them into his personal bank account and then waited a day to withdraw the funds so that he could send them via Western Union to the indicated regional office. He sent $1,487.99 on December 2, and $1,522.35 on December 5.
On December 11, he learned from his bank that the first two checks he deposited were returned as fictitious/insufficient funds. His bank deducted the $3,010.34 from his account. The resident had not deposited the third check.
Officer Butler contacted the Moreno Valley, California Police Dispatch and learned that the address provided by the individual who had contacted the resident did not exist.
Police continue to investigate.
