LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Electronics, power tools, safety gear, and even pogo sticks traveled through the mail and ended up at Teresa Wright's Louisville home.
Wright thought she had a dream job where she could make a decent living reshipping items all from the comfort of home, but after watching our investigation last month, she became increasingly uncomfortable.
"I was like, yeah, I'm scammed," Wright said.
In our initial story, a woman in another state was reshipping items for a company that claimed to be based out of Louisville but the Better Business Bureau said that was likely a scam.
Victims are typically offered an at-home job that involves receiving, reviewing, and repackaging goods. What they don't know: the goods are likely bought with stolen credit card accounts.
In exchange, scammers can steal victims' identities while making it harder for investigators to track the stolen goods.
Since 2017, 30 victims in Kentucky have lost nearly $104,000 to these types of scams, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wright said she was watching our story as she was boxing packages herself for a Florida-based company called Shipping Cargo LLC.
"I mean this one was a band saw, this one was a helmet, this one was a pogo stick," Wright said, showing what she received.
The company promised her $2,500 a month.
"Plus $25 per package," she explained.
The compensation was similar to what Justyna Kijek said a fake company, Daron Consulting LLC, promised her.
Our FOCUS investigative team tried getting in touch with both companies, but we didn't have any luck.
"If they were shipping stolen goods or something I didn't want to be no part of that," Wright said.
We contacted the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida, where Shipping Cargo claims to be located.
FOCUS Investigative reporter Paula Vasan asked the BBB, "Do you think this is a scam?"
"I do, there are no legitimate companies that do this, that take packages, intercept them in mid-stream and print new labels and send them to somebody different," Arthur Forster of the Better Business Bureau said.
Now Wright's afraid her identity's been stolen. She's closed her bank accounts, contacted the BBB, the FBI, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, and credit agency Experian.
"Thank you all for airing this story, I feel like God used you to intervene in my situation," Wright said. "Maybe I can prevent someone else from going through everything I went through."
The Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida has three scam tracker complaints against Shipping Cargo. They also say the company isn’t registered with the state.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
If you’re suspicious about your job offer, pay attention to these warning signs.
Be skeptical when pay is too good to be true, or when there’s a lack of an interview process.
Another warning sign: When an employer finds you and offers you a job, instead of you reaching out to them.
Check online for additional information that could validate the business like a business registration on government websites.
BBB also encourages people who feel they could have been scammed to report it on Scam Tracker.
Contact reporter Paula Vasan at pvasan@whas11.com or on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Have a news tip? Email focus@whas11.com.