These days, many retirees are looking for part-time and work-at-home opportunities. While some are legit, others are not.
One identity con: You find the "perfect job" with an overseas company. But with no local bank yet, they need your help temporarily to transfer funds, says Pavelites. You receive checks, deposit them to your account and send or wire all or part of the money somewhere else.
Not surprisingly, the checks are bogus. When your bank puts cash in your account, the checks may not have actually "cleared" yet. When the bad paper is eventually discovered, your account will take the loss, says Pavelites.
Or else you collect and reroute wire transfers or deposit genuine checks. But the money has been scammed from others. So now you're a "money mule," says Pavelites.
How to upend the scam: Just say no to any requests to cash checks through your account or pleas to pick up or wire money. In the days of electronic banking, what company, no matter where they're headquartered, can't get a U.S. bank account almost instantly?