A recent college graduate has gone viral after sharing a story about how she was allegedly scammed out of $2,400 by a fake LinkedIn job offer.
Jenn, who goes by the username @lolleavemyspamalone on TikTok, prefaced the story by saying: “I’m just sharing my truth so y’all don’t fall for the same thing.”
In the clip, which saw her visibly in tears throughout the entirety of the five-minute video, Jenn explained that she was sharing her story as a public service announcement, in order to raise awareness and to prevent others from falling for the same scam that she did. She said that even though she has “a whole college degree,” she was still vulnerable.
According to Jenn, after graduating from college, she was dedicating all of her time to searching for a job, but the search had proven difficult and demoralising.
In the video, Jenn claimed she was ultimately scammed by recruiters pretending to work for Bold Business, a legitimate digital marketing website. According to the TikToker, throughout the interview process, she noticed that a few things were off, such as how the company hadn’t scheduled a phone screening or video call via commonly used apps like Zoom or Google. Instead, the recruiters allegedly insisted on using Wired because they were an international company, despite it being an uncommon industry practice. In hindsight, this ended up being one of many red flags, according to Jenn.
The interview process was ultimately short and quick, and Jenn said she received a “really, really good offer”. Jenn then said that she did her background research and found that Bold Business was in fact a legitimate company. Like other companies and hiring processes, the recruiters had also sent her a written offer and contract. Not only that, but Jenn had also signed a non-disclosure agreement, which seemed like more evidence that she was communicating with a real company.
Jenn was excited, and seeing it as her “big break,” she decided to accept the offer. But she said things took a turn as she was guided through the onboarding process for her new position as a social media specialist. The company told her that, in order for her to get her a work laptop, phone, and printer, they would send her a $2,400 check and after depositing the check, they instructed her to send their equipment employee the money via Zelle.
After doing as instructed, Jenn said she received an email from her bank informing her that there were insufficient funds in her account. This is when things got dicey and the scam became apparent to Jenn, according to the TikToker. While the cheque she deposited initially went through, it bounced, and ultimately, it was her money that was sent to the company instead.
Jenn said: “LinkedIn is full of scams. Please be careful. Take this as a warning.”
The college graduate said she reported Bold Business on LinkedIn, and warned viewers to watch out for Bold Business recruiters because some, like the ones who scammed her, do not work for the real company.
She also asked whoever she sent the money to to send her the money back, but so far there have been no updates on that front.
In a statement to The Daily Dot about the alleged scam, Bold Business said: “The sole employment pipeline for Bold Business LLC originates with the Bold Business Career Page (https://boldbusiness.applytojob.com/apply).”
Bold Business also clarified that any links or emails from anyone else claiming to be from Bold Business were “fraudulent”.
The Independent has contacted Jenn, LinkedIn, and Bold Business for comment.
