Consumer complaint received 2022-09-06
Company: Early Warning Services, LLC
State: NY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
A recruiter from XXXX XXXX contacted me via email ( XXXX ), saying that they found my profile on XXXX XXXX and invited me to apply for an open XXXX XXXX position. I applied for the job, received an offer from XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), and was told to communicate with the IT Specialist, XXXX XXXX, via XXXX to set up my home office. 

XXXX asked for my ID and SSN to have on record, which I provided, as well as which bank I use. He then directed me to a false XXXX XXXX website XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, to consult a specialist and order my equipment. He assured me that the company would provide the funds, but that this process was a part of my training so I would know how to replace/upgrade equipment in the future. After contacting XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), the company sent me an invoice with the cost of all the equipment, which I then shared with XXXX. 

On XX/XX/2022, after XXXX contacted the " head of department, '' I was sent a check for {$4200.00} via email ( XXXX ), which I deposited through my phone. I was also told that the funds would be available instantly. The funds came up in my present balance, but not my available balance. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX said to notify XXXX XXXX that I was ready to fill the invoice. XXXX XXXX asked that I pay a fee of {$830.00} via Zelle to XXXX to reserve my home office equipment, so I asked XXXX if this fee was included in the check. He said yes. I tried to make the payment, but it didn't work because the funds from the check weren't available yet, and I didn't have that much money available in my account. 

I communicated this to XXXX ; he asked me to send {$500.00} to reserve the equipment since I had already contacted the XXXX company. He also assured me that I would get back the money once the funds from the check were available. 

Afterward, the XXXX company claimed that I sent the money to the wrong account, although I used the information that they gave me, since that account can only accept {$800.00} upward. They then sent me different account information ( XXXX ) to send the {$500.00} there instead. I did not send anything this time. 

Despite the first account being unable to receive anything less than {$800.00}, the money didn't come back to me, so I asked XXXX XXXX to cancel or return the payment. They didn't. I contacted my bank, XXXX XXXX XXXX ; they confirmed that this was a scam and stated there may not be anything that they can do. 

I contacted XXXX again, who only continued trying to convince me to pay the " reservation fee '' out of pocket until the funds from the falsified check were deposited. I confronted him, and when he knew that I was now aware of the scam, he stopped responding to my messages. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at around XXXX XXXX I deactivated my Zelle, and the {$500.00} seemed to go back into my balance. Later that same day, I got a notice from XXXX saying that my account was locked. This was due to information on the check, and I was told that no money could enter or leave while my account was in this state. I called XXXX again to alert them that the check was fake ( I'd called the day before as well, but was left on hold for three hours until I decided to hang up ), but the representative told me that the check was still processing and to call back on XX/XX/XXXX when it was finished, they'd be unable to help before then. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I checked my account balance and saw that the {$500.00} I thought I'd gotten back was gone again. I also thought my funds would be safe since my account was restricted at the time. I contacted my bank again, but since my account was still frozen, I was asked to call back on the XXXX. I checked my bank account again on the XXXX and saw that the check had been returned, and I was charged a {$12.00} return fee. I then contacted my bank again, which lifted my restriction but couldn't return the fee. The representative I spoke to sent an alert to Zelle to contact the recipient 's bank, but I was also told that there was no guarantee of Zelle 's response. 

I tried logging on to XXXX again but no longer had access. Since our last interaction, XXXX removed me from the XXXX server. I tried reaching out through email as well but haven't gotten a response.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation