Description

I had applied for a remote position through my school, Los Rios Community College, it was a job listing sent via email to my school email. It was posted in email which I have saved for records. I applied for it around July 16th I believe & about a couple weeks later or so I received a text message saying, that I would be in consideration for the position. The person who I was working with for a week, was using an email associated with the college, and also said that they were a teacher there as well who has worked there for over 10 years, so I did not believe that it would be fraudulent work. They had me do an interview via text which they asked me what my skill sets are and what I had to offer, it seemed legitimate at the time as I wouldn’t suspect that someone who’s showing all signs that they work for the college would be attempting to scam me. I even Google searched the name of the company and the person who I was working for, their story was well put together and hard to dispute. So I thought hey, there are new jobs & new ways of making money nowadays, if I don’t take a step out of the norm how will I ever know what’s truly possible. The job’s description was 3x a week, 1-2 hours daily at a fixed $500. I thought it was a cool opportunity to make some extra money while trying to work. I’m aware of scammers being out there but I didn’t see it coming this way. So after I was determined I would be a good fit for the company, I filled out the application information they asked. It was a Remote Digital Assistant, I would be helping in setting up arrangements with clients, make documents via Microsoft & make purchases on behalf of the Employer. I thought this was legitimate else I would have never applied, nor am I in the future. So it began with them asking me to start training & complete the first task of the day. I was asked to deposit a check into my bank account. At first I thought that it was strange but I ended up doing it anyways. The only reason I did so was because once again I thought this was a legitimate job from my school. I deposited the check and then was asked to withdraw x amount of dollars into my Cash App & Apple Pay. I was asked to purchase BitCoin and then transfer it to sender & money via Apple Pay. They said it was to Pay for clients marketing and business transactions. I did so for 3 days, but by that time I was getting suspicious of what was going on and even told them that it seemed fraudulent & if it was I would report them to the appropriate authorities. They doubled down and said it’s nothing to worry about, I work at the school & everything. I thought maybe I am overthinking this & I can trust this individual. So I started doing my research about frauds and check scams and everything, then I eventually start to worry that I am being involved in this, but at the same time wondering how did I get tangled into this, I don’t need this, I was just applying to a position from the school email, I was just trying to make some extra money. This individual was very pressuring but calm at the same time, I wouldn’t suspect that someone who is a teacher or is impersonating this individual very well would be misleading me. I told them on Friday Aug 15, 2025, that I wouldn’t be able to make any more transfers because my account was flagged, I told her that if this is fraud I will have to report it, she said that she is not worried or bothered by that, that she will fax the proof of employment and send it by mail. She said I have nothing to worry about again. I had deposited six checks in 3 days for this individual before, 2 checks a day, made transfers etc. The process was super easy for myself to grasp, I thought that I was just handling some business transactions & thought that this was a new opportunity to learn legitimate skills in the business world. I took the risk and I was wrong. I have no interest in doing fraud. So come today, I see that 2 for the checks so far have been returned and now it’s taking money out of my account. So proof that it was indeed fraudulent activity. I have saved all text messages and the emails & took screenshots of every deposit/withdrawal & to whom, numbers etc. I just want justice as I thought I was just doing a part time job, I would never have accepted this if it was not through my school. Whoever this individual is or whom their impersonating is good or I’m just a fool for believing in the system.