(BBB Midwest Plains)
The Better Business Bureau of the Midwest Plains is issuing a warning following a detailed investigation into complaints against FLL Shipping, previously known as First Lane Logistics US LLC and FL Ship. In the past month alone, BBB has received more than 1,300 inquiries about these entities, which have been implicated in a sophisticated re-shipping scam that exploited job seekers and compromised their personal information.
Individuals have reported being recruited for work-from-home package handling positions that required receiving, repacking, and sending parcels to various locations, only to receive no payment.
BBB's attention was drawn to "FLL Shipping" in early March through a wave of Scam Tracker reports pointing to a single address in Winfield, Kansas. In the past month, 1,347 inquiries have been made about FLL Shipping, prompting a thorough investigation.
Job seekers shared their experiences of being contacted by FLL Shipping’s HR representatives via phone or email for "Shipment Analyst" roles. They were led to believe their resumes were selected from Indeed or a job posting site. After a “Screening Interview,” candidates were asked to provide sensitive information, including bank details, as part of supposed employment procedures. After a month of work, they found themselves barred from their job portals and unable to contact the company.
BBB has determined that the Winfield, Kansas address FLL Shipping claimed as its headquarters is falsely attributed. The actual property owner has disavowed any link to the company. Despite being registered with the Kansas Secretary of State, the true location of these entities remains elusive.
To support those affected, BBB has made ID Theft resources available.
BBB issued a comprehensive scam study on employment fraud in September 2020, which found that many employment scams often involve reshipping goods.
Tips to avoid job scams:
- Research the job offer. Call or contact the company's website for contact information to verify the job posting.
- Check on businesses at BBB.org if they claim to be offering jobs.
- Do an internet search with the employer's name and the word “scam” to see if there are reports involving job scams.
- Examine the email addresses of those offering jobs to see if they match the actual company's protocols. Be alert to Gmail business email addresses.
- Consider creating a separate email address when posting a resume on job boards or applying. This can help detect “offers” from scam employers you did not contact.
- Consider setting up a second bank account to pay for jobs where you have never met the employer.
- If you’re paying for the promise of a job, it’s most likely a scam.
- Be very wary of mystery shopping or secret shopper positions.
- Work-from-home jobs that involve receiving and reshipping packages are likely scams.
- Beware of jobs that involve receiving and forwarding money.
- Don’t fall for a fake check scam. BBB is unaware of legitimate job offers that send checks to applicants and ask them to send money to a third party.
- Be cautious in providing personal information such as your full address, birth date, and financial information in your resume or to unverified recruiters and online applications.
- Be wary of vague job descriptions.
- Even if you do the work, it still may be a scam.
- Do not respond to calls, texts, or emails from unknown numbers or suspicious addresses.
- Do not click links from a number you do not recognize in a text message. If a friend sends you a text with a suspicious link that seems out of character, call them to ensure they weren’t hacked.
Victims of job scams must report them to:
- Better Business Bureau - BBB.org or BBB.org/scamtracker.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - reportfraud.ftc.gov or call 877-FTC-Help.
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - ic3.gov/complaint.