Any job offers extended from www.rds-usa.com should not be accepted. BBB learned that the domain for the website is registered in Hong Kong and isn’t the site it’s pretending to be. The fake website has details designed to make it look like it represents a local company – Rapid Delivery Service, a BBB Accredited Business – but it’s actually based in China and doesn’t have anything to do with the business located in Cincinnati.
Any job offers generated from this site should be treated cautiously as they may be linked to a package reshipping scam. Reshipping scams are where job seekers are hired to unknowingly smuggle stolen goods out of the country or distribute counterfeit money orders to scammers. By simply removing one address label and replacing it with another, the unsuspecting worker participates in mail fraud.
Spoofing occurs when scammers use information about a business found on an Internet search, LinkedIn profile, or social media site to create a website. They’ll generate job postings on common employment recruitment sites like Job Monster or Careerbuilder and link it back to the fake site. Applicants who respond to the post are usually asked to complete online forms with their personal information or in some cases, provide financial information.
Rapid Delivery Service is aware of the spoof and confirmed they’ve received calls about the job from job seekers even though they don’t have a website and didn’t send out a job posting.
Through Scam Tracker data, BBB discovered that the fake position advertised a salary of $2,700 for the first month of work, increasing to $600 per week plus $15 for each package delivered. The job reportedly involved collecting packages, taking their photos and uploading those photos onto a website; once that was complete and the postage for the package was received, the worker was then to send the package to a separate address.
It is important for job searchers to be wary of email offers that promise large profits with minimal effort or companies that extend an offer of employment without an interview. Additional red flags may include recruiters who will only interview via chat or email instead of conducting the interview in person or online. Activity like this should be reported immediately. Businesses should be aware their information may be lifted from Internet searches and social media sites – including professional networking sites such as LinkedIn.
It’s a good idea to periodically search for your business on the Internet to see if there are any fake job postings unrelated to your company. Report any fraudulent listings to the websites where you found them and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Scam activity can be reported to BBB’s Scam Tracker either by phone at 513-421-3015 or online at www.bbb.org/scamtracker/us/.
Sandra Guile is the Community Outreach Specialist for BBB. She promotes BBB’s message of marketplace ethics through public speaking engagements, presentations, media relations, press releases, web content, and other written materials.
Contact Sandra at (513) 639-9126 or sguile@cincinnati.bbb.org. Your BBB is located at 1 East 4th Street Suite 600 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 – to reach the office, call (513) 421-3015.
